I know but I decided to post anyway. I just needed assurance what I was doing was the right thing. Even if it's from people I don't know, and may hate who I am for what happened.
It's been a tough day today. Trying to take my mind off of what happened the last three days and Trooper. It isn't easy, nor do I expect it to be. I've gone the full circle of blame, starting with myself, moving to my older son, then to my wife, over to the lady who reached out and got bit, and finally back to myself. It comes back on my shoulders.
At this point, I do not expect to get another dog in my lifetime. I obviously didn't have the right set of skills and responsibility for Trooper and I would hate that to carry over to another dog. More importantly, I don't want my kids to go through this again. My 10-year old son is pissed off at the officer and the victim - hell, the world right now. My 15-year old son is upset with himself (he was the one who had the dog and gave the warning). And my 13-year old daughter is just overall distraught, periodically checking in on me to see how I'm doing.
I'm not looking for sympathy for me or my kids, just wanted to let people know the feelings that have occurred since yesterday and a warning to others the effect of not taking responsibility for your animals.