Yuri's Story
by Orysia Dawydiak
Reprinted from the Akbash Sentinel, Volume 27, 1993
This is a true story, experienced by a breeder who wishes to remain anonymous. It is a sad story, describing the down side of being a breeder, and is by no means unique or a worst case scenario. It is being told to give potential breeders, those with a heart and a conscience, an idea of the responsibility all breeders must assume for the dogs they put out into the world. The fictional names I'll use are, for the breeder, Cheryl; the dog, Yuri; Yuri's first owners, Ellen and Mike; and Yuri's second owners, Amy and Joe Chelton.
Cheryl was very pleased with the litter that her new bitch had presented. The 9 pups were sired by a young stud, so she was not sure what the pups would be like since neither of the parents had ever been bred before. They all seemed healthy and particularly vigorous. A couple of newborn pups had started to nurse before they were even disconnected from the placenta. In her ten years of breeding, Cheryl had never seen such vitality before. She was concerned with the high energy level of the pups because both parents were also lively, although they settled down and became successful livestock guardians once they matured.
As it turned out, only one of the nine pups was going to live with other animals, and the livestock owner was experienced with the breed. The other homes were with families as companion dogs. The family she was most concerned about assured her they would be taking the dog to obedience classes. They understood the nature of the breed from the literature Cheryl had sent. She chose the smallest male pup, Yuri, for this family, which included several children, and emphasized this would be an active pup, one in need of a fair amount of attention.
When Yuri was about 7 months old, Cheryl happened to be in the region, and arranged to visit. She and a friend were invited inside the house, and Yuri was brought in from the yard. He immediately launched himself on Cheryl's friend and tried to mount her. No one seemed to have any control over him. When Cheryl finally had him by the collar and on the ground, he growled at her. Outdoors, where Yuri was usually kept, he ran around the yard almost non-stop, and again tried to mount Cheryl's friend. He stole one of the children's hats and could not be convinced to give it up. Cheryl spoke with the owners, Ellen and Mike, who had not taken Yuri to obedience classes, and asked them to work with him more diligently. She was not very happy with what she had seen.
When she returned home, she wrote the owners a letter, suggesting a good obedience trainer in their area. She also warned them that if Yuri did not get some 'schooling', he would eventually get into trouble by knocking down and possibly nipping a neighbour's child, and maybe even being euthanized. She hoped this would shock them into training the energetic, happy-go-lucky pup because they did seem truly fond of him.
Cheryl heard nothing more from the family for the next year or so. One day, when Yuri was about 22 months old, Ellen called her and said that they needed to find a home for Yuri because she and Mike were splitting up, selling the house, and she didn't know if they would have another place to keep the dog. When Cheryl asked about Yuri's behavior, Ellen told her she had taken him to a training class, and that she could handle him quite well. She also said that local children used to tease Yuri, and he had nipped a couple of them when they stuck their hands through the fence. About the same time, a local couple, Amy and Joe Chelton, stopped in to see Cheryl's dogs. They said they were experienced with protection-type dogs, would consider an adult. Cheryl gave them Ellen's number and suggested they call her to get a complete history of Yuri.
Two days later, Cheryl returned home from shopping to find the Cheltons parked in her yard with a large wire dog crate in their van. Inside the crate was Yuri, groggy from sedation, but growling at anyone who approached. Without further consultation, the Cheltons had arranged to adopt him. When they arrived at the airport, the Cheltons learned he had bitten a cargo handler when he put his hand on the wire cage to move it from the plane. The Cheltons were frightened and did not want to let the dog out. Cheryl, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, instructed them to drive their van into a fenced area, then leave. She spoke comfortingly to the confused dog, and opened his cage. He came out quietly, a bit wobbly on his feet. He came over to her and seemed relieved that there was someone who was not afraid of him. She massaged his ears, then let him explore the yard.
Cheryl agreed to keep Yuri for a few days to observe him and see if he was safe to release into the Cheltons' care. After the effects of the drug wore off, Yuri was his bouncy old self, and seemed like a normal dog. He did, however, try to mount Cheryl, but stopped immediately when she hollered at him. In fact, he was easily controlled with a loud, disapproving voice. Given his propensity for nipping hands, she did not want to use her own to discipline him. He was difficult to take on walks, always straining at the collar. Cheryl tried a pinch collar on him, and that controlled him very well, but he fought her the next time she tried to put in on. The Cheltons came every other day to spend time with Yuri, feed him treats and try to win him over. After a week, they decided to take him home.
Initially, Yuri seemed to like his new home. However, within a week he was challenging the Cheltons. Yuri was a terror whenever anyone came to their door, so their reaction was to stop inviting people over. Yuri began to rule the roost. When Cheryl came to visit, she would take charge, restore order, and everything would appear fine. But Cheryl and the Cheltons knew she could not be 'in charge' all the time. She gave as much advice as she could, and encouraged the Cheltons to be firm with Yuri.
A couple of days later, the Cheltons arrived at Cheryl's with Yuri. They could not control him. He was a liability to them and anyone near their house, including their neighbours. Cheryl agreed that they should not keep him if they were that concerned. The Cheltons hoped she would be able to find a more appropriate home for him. Cheryl was not as hopeful. Later that week, Cheryl's carpenter put his hand into the pen where Yuri was kept to pet another dog, and Yuri rushed over and bit him. Cheryl was less hopeful than ever. She had tried Yuri with her sheep, but he was so keen to chase them she could hardly hold him back. Yuri proved to have no social skills with other dogs. Cheryl's older dogs disliked him intensely, so much so that her 7 year old bitch had attacked him. Her 2 year old female was afraid of Yuri. Yuri couldn't be trusted with people, livestock or even dogs.
At this point, Cheryl began to consider euthanasia seriously. She told the Cheltons, and they protested. Cheryl said that she could not keep Yuri indefinitely. The Cheltons, alarmed at this idea, contacted Ellen to inform her of what was happening. By chance, they happened to speak with Ellen's daughter, who stated that Yuri had bitten numerous people, including herself, and should be destroyed. At this point, they realized that they had not heard the entire story from Ellen. When Ellen was challenged, she said her daughter was lying.
Cheryl, trying to resolve the confusion over Yuri's past, phoned Ellen and ended up talking to her (supposedly) estranged husband, Mike. Mike started telling her about the lawsuits against him for dog bites from Yuri. About one week after Ellen had called her own daughter a liar about Yuri's behavior, Mike said the same thing about Ellen.
Cheryl felt betrayed by people who had promised to care for and love Yuri. She also felt that she had betrayed Yuri, sending him off to these people. The Cheltons, feeling caught between the deceit of the original owners and Cheryl with her drastic solution, were also confused. The only certainties were that Yuri was a strapping big Akbash Dog, in full health, terribly insecure, with a tendency to try to dominate everyone he met, and a recent history of at least two unwarranted bites. Yuri did not respect the Cheltons, and the Cheltons, even though they loved Yuri, were afraid of him. They reluctantly agreed that euthanasia was the only viable solution.
Cheryl cried when she prepared Yuri's last dinner. She watched him gulp it down with his usual enthusiasm. He was so alive, so dynamic. With a dominant person in control, and ideal surroundings, Yuri almost seemed normal. He could have been such a wonderful pet in the right hands. But Yuri had become a canine time bomb. He was not predictable, and could not be trusted. Even though Cheryl knew she was taking the correct course, she did not sleep well that night.
Cheryl was depressed over Yuri's death, and remained so for some time. She did not breed dogs just to euthanize them in their prime of life. She had made a big mistake placing a pup with those people. Cheryl resolved to follow her heart whenever she had any misgivings about potential owners. She would never forget Yuri, who had learned to trust and respect her in his last few weeks. If she could possibly help it, there would never be another Yuri's Story.
* * * * *
Post Script:
Cheryl learned later from the Cheltons that Mike and Ellen did not divorce after all. Shortly after shipping Yuri off, they acquired a Golden retriever puppy. The Cheltons adopted a medium sized white Samoyed cross from the local Humane Society. In the end, they had the dogs that suited them best.