To Zara…With Love
Most people don’t bring home a dog with euthanasia in mind. And the term “behavioral euthanasia” is one that most people don’t even know until they’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and heartbroken.
Zara was once a typical, fun-loving Golden Retriever. Her spunky personality and love for affection were typical “normal Golden behavior.” But over the years, something changed….something most people wouldn’t have expected in a Golden.
When Zara first came to us, her owners had surrendered her because she “nipped” someone. It wasn’t long before the truth came out. What that owner failed to mention was that her daughter for 5 years had climbed on and hit Zara on a daily basis. The owner also failed to mention the extensive use of a shock collar “to make Zara behave.”
Once Zara was in our care, it wasn’t long before we realized something was terribly wrong. Zara began trying to attack a dog in another crate, and Zara turned on her foster several times before finally biting her so badly the foster was unable to move her arm.
No warning. No trends. Just genuine panic.
How many ignored warnings had this beautiful, wonderful dog given in previous years before she decided to immediately snap? How could this amazing Golden Retriever have been failed by her humans so greatly?
It’s a story we see all too often.
When it comes to cases like Zara, the term Behavioral Euthanasia carries a lot of stigma. The idea of a dog being put down simply due to behavioral issues seems unnecessary and almost cruel. But isn’t it more cruel for a dog to live in such a high-stress state that they can’t cope
According to a recent study by Hitchcock et al. (2024), learning more about how Behavioral Euthanasia affects the people who have to make the hard decision could help reduce the stigma and allow grieving people to get the support they need. The study also states that “improving public education on dog behavior has the potential to strengthen the bond between humans and animals, enhance the quality of life for both, and reduce safety risks in households and communities with multiple species. This, in turn, could lead to a decrease in behavioral euthanasia for pet dogs.”
Behavioral Euthanasia is never an easy choice. And it’s never the first choice. In fact, most dogs exhibit the behavior for more than a year before Behavioral Euthanasia is even considered.
Behavioral Euthanasia is often judged as “failure” but in reality it’s usually the end point of exhaustive effort. And the emotional toll it takes on the dog’s owners is devastating.
But how can we also get to a place where BE doesn’t have to be an option?
It starts long before a dog ever reaches a breaking point. It starts with education; understanding canine body language, recognizing early signs of stress, and respecting boundaries instead of dismissing them. It starts with advocating for humane, science-based training methods and rejecting tools and techniques that rely on fear, pain, or suppression.
It requires accountability from breeders, from owners, and from professionals. Dogs like Zara don’t “snap out of nowhere.” Their stories are written slowly, over time, in missed signals, unmanaged stress, and environments that fail to meet their needs.
And it requires compassion. Not just for the dogs, but for the people who are left carrying impossible decisions. Because Behavioral Euthanasia is not about giving up. It’s about recognizing when a dog is suffering in a way we cannot safely or humanely fix.
Zara was not a bad dog. She was a dog who learned that the world was unpredictable and unsafe, and eventually, she responded the only way she knew how.
If we want fewer stories like hers, we have to do better sooner.
Better education.
Better advocacy.
Better empathy.
Because the goal isn’t just to save dogs.
It’s to truly understand them—before it’s too late.
Hitchcock M, Workman MK, Guthrie AP, Ruple A, Feuerbacher EN. Factors associated with behavioral euthanasia in pet dogs. Front
Vet Sci. 2024 Apr 17;11:1387076.
