Dog put to sleep due to aggression- right or wrong?

[NotJustACigar]

I am Facebook friends with the rescuer who I got my dog from as a puppy. Everything kicked off yesterday in the comments section when the rescuer posted about how upset she was that a family who had adopted one of her dogs had the dog pts.

It transpired that the dog had bitten a 2 year old child in the face unprovoked (the child was carrying some sweets) and a couple of years later attacked the owner who was sleeping. Both had to be treated in hospital. It had also attacked other dogs.

I think the decision to pts was the right one on this occasion however everyone else in the comments is lashing out at the owners saying they had no right to do that, should have given the dog back to the rescuer, sought professional help, etc. Now the bit about professional help I can understand but surely if a dog has put two people in hospital then it is too risky to have that dog living amongst people? It could kill a child next time. Am I wrong because there are around 100 people on the thread lashing out at the owners and I'm the only person defending them. It worries me that so many people think its OK to keep a dog who has done this?

@Soubriquet

Being put to sleep is not the worst option for a dog

Languishing in kennels for the rest of his life is

I used to work at a rescue that had an extremely reactive dog. He resource guarded everything. He would stand in doorways and stop people from going through

He was rehomed and returned numerous times but one of the owners of the kennels refused to put him to sleep

In the end, the poor thing was confined to a pen with a kennel inside and that was it. We workers were told not to deal with him as the owner would.

That's a disgrace and to me personally, practically abuse by neglect. You can't leave a dog in that state to live out the duration of his life isolated and getting steadily worse and driven slowly pots for rags with the daily stress of living like that.

God in Heaven what a miserable, pitiful existence

Thanks all, your responses have reassured me that I'm not completely mad. I'm not really involved in this at all beyond having messaged back and forth with the owner a couple of times to help her feel a bit better. She said she was feeling really awful and confused about how unkind people were being to her with name-calling and everything. It's died down a lot now, though.

*Being put to sleep is not the worst option for a dog

Languishing in kennels for the rest of his life is*

This.

I looked on the local RSPCA centre website earlier today. They have eight dogs, six of which are mature bull/mastiff/cane corso types with multiple behaviour issues. For rehoming to “experienced dog owners only, no children, no other pets”.

It’s so sad, but I believe that PTS would be better.