Friend rehoming due to depression

[Anon645]

My friend is suffering from pretty brutal depression and has been for a number of months. She has young children and a 1 year old dog. At the moment she is contemplating rehoming the dog as she feels her depression leaves her unable to cope with him. She feels extremely guilty as I know she loves the dog and she is very affectionate ate towards it. She doesn't have any family to mind the dog and I already have my own pets and family so can't take the dog on for her.

Does anyone have any advice? At the moment the dog is having a walk twice a week as that's all she can do. She's also not got the energy to train the dog beyond what she's already done as she's so low and fatigued.

Any advice?

What a mess for everyone. Poor dog though - baiters always send their female partners to do the deal.

Someone paid £300 for an un house trained Jack Russell mix?

That’s a bait dog for sure.

Poor dog never stood a chance.

What an utterly shit life for him.

Depressed people can be so self absorbed and completely selfish.

Animals deserve better. Poor souls.

Don't say that :( I really hope not.
I've been on edge all evening worried !

I wouldn't say my friend is selfish or self absorbed. If anything she has completely let herself go, and always puts herself behind everyone nornally and has done so for years

Depression is a disease

There are no winners here :(

Depression is a disease but she knew she had depression and was prone to these episodes when she got the dog. It just isn't fair for the dog to be put into that situation and she had every opportunity do act differently when she was feeling better.

Exactly!!!
The only loser here is the poor dog and children.

Id have had more respect had she not sold the dog but given him to a charity who would have made sure he didn’t end up as bait.

I know. But we don't know when she will get better... or even if she will ever 100% recover from depression. I suspect nor as she has suffered on and on for years.

Absolutely, that poor fucking dog, and the poor dc. Not a single adult giving a shit about them and letting them live surrounded by urine and faeces.

Well there shouldn't be any more problems with the urine now the dog has been sadly rehomed.

Oh get off your high horses. It's a sad situation all round. That's what diseases do.

This was someone suffering with a disease. You know, not coping, in a bad place. Probably hating themselves for it.

And exactly how does anyone know what opportunities this woman had to do better?

If its actually been removed.

I don’t know how you can be friends with this woman. Depressed or not, she’s condemned that poor dog to a terrible frightening life. Even worse than the life it had with her. It’s not acceptable however depressed she is. The children should not be left with her either .

Not too depressed to list her dog online. Not too guilty to ensure he goes to the best home possible, by getting him into a rescue who would vet prospective adopters.

Poor dog.

Yes, money mattered more than the dogs safety and wellbeing. Awful.

Out of curiosity why has everyone jumped to the conclusion this dog will be used as bait ..? Is dog fighting a huge problem in this country? I don't hear about it often in the news as a large scale concerning issue so I'm curious

Could it not be possible that the dog has genuinely been rehomed by a nice person ? :/
.

Dog fighting is a disgustingly huge issue. Do they not even have a garden they could have let the dog out in? Am assuming the gparents are providing all meals/care to the dc?

I also can't help but think that a terrier was really not the right breed for her. She couldn't commit to the long walks a terrier requires wih her fatigue, and that dog had so much energy!! Believe me !

She wanted a dog for company, and I can't help but think if she'd of gone for a less busy breed the dog may still be wirh her

I absolutely hope she never tries another dog again.

Why would she suddenly have the energy to care for any dog?!

This!

Depression is an illness but not an excuse for cruelty to animals.

Are the DC ok? It seems she really needs some proper support.

Poor dog but I'm worried for the DC.

Because as many people have already said, the dog is not housetrained , a breed with loads of energy and not a desirable proposition . Why would anyone pay £300 for such a dog? Yes, dog fighting and baiting is a big issue. Your friend has no idea about the home that dog is going to .

This. Totally despicable. People like that should be banned from ever owning another animal.

God help those kids.

It’s possible.

MN is incredibly judgemental and one dimensional when it comes to rehoming animals.

Listing the dog online wasn’t the best way to rehome. There absolutely is a risk that it could be used for dog fighting.

But genuine people do buy animals online. In fact, there are groups of people who do this to ensure that vulnerable breeds don’t get used for dog fighting. People even raise the £300 to rescue a dog. Charging for him was the right thing to do, it makes him less vulnerable. £300 is also not expensive in the dog world.

Nobody here can say where the dog has gone. I hope it’s somewhere genuine.

If she can't manage to walk a terrier more than twice a week, what makes you think she's manage it with any other breed?