In Memory of Sophie

 

In early November, 2012, we euthanized Sophie.

Losing Sophie has been heartbreaking for all of us, but most especially for her foster mom, Karen Williams, who took her in to her home in October of 2011. She had such high hopes for Sophie, we all did. She was FBLCR’s first foster dog, a five year old owner surrender, turned over to FBLCR by the FBVillage, after she had bitten the husband in her FBVillage foster home. With nobody available to take her in the United States (FBLCR was less than a month old!), Sophie made the long journey from Virginia, where she was first taken into foster care, to the province of Ontario, Canada, where we hoped that she would receive the training that she needed to make her safe to place in a forever home.

By the time she came to FBLCR, she had already been in three homes and one foster home. Her first owner traveled extensively and left her shut up in a bathroom for days on end, with only the attentions of a dog walker. When she was just a year old, she was turned over to a second family, where she stayed for the next four years, where she was never accepted by the other two French Bulldogs already in the household. From there, she was passed on to yet a third home. After one short month, a month spent desperately trying to gain the affections of her new male owner and jealously attacking his wife, Sophie found herself moving on once again, this time into the custody of the FBVillage.

Unfortunately, Sophie deteriorated further while in FBVillage foster care, refusing to bond with her foster family, growling at anyone who tried to touch her or control her, and, finally, biting the husband in her foster home. Her next stop was Ontario, Canada, and her last chance.

Her foster mom tried so hard to salvage this poor little dog over long months, through the end of 2011, and through most of 2012 into November, putting up with Sophie’s unpredictable and frequently savage behavior, and the constant danger to family members, both human and canine. Sophie would not, could not trust anyone, and that was eventually her downfall.

We wish we could save each one of these dogs, we wish we could make them all happy and find them new homes where they could safely live out their lives. Karen tried her best, that we know, and when I asked her to write a memorial for Sophie, she just couldn’t do it. The pain was too raw, even months later.

So I’ll say it. I’m so sorry we couldn’t fix Sophie.  It’s the terrible possibility each of our foster homes must face when they take in a dog like Sophie.  I am so sorry we had to euthanize another dog and break another foster mom’s heart.

Charlotte Creeley
President, FBLCR