reposted from our social media public statement in August 2025
Trigger warning: pet death
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Gazeebo was killed by Ranger last week in a freak accident, and we euthanized Ranger that night while hugging him tightly. Ranger was no longer safe to keep on this plane. IRL friends, if you’re learning of this incident this way, please give me grace.
While we were out, Gazeebo got his head stuck in a stool and began thrashing. Something clicked in Ranger’s brain and Gazeebo wasn’t his BFF anymore; he was something that needed to be dispatched. Mindy was present and did not engage in any injurious or predatory behavior. After it was over, both Mindy and Ranger were confused about Gazeebo not moving or breathing. Ranger did not seem to realize what he had done. Patrick came home to the aftermath, and we pieced together what happened via our nanny cam’s recordings.
This uncharacteristic but instinctual behavior has been documented in behavior world and is labeled “predatory drift.”
I’m sharing this terrible story for three reasons:
- I do not want to retell it over and over
- If your pet shows any type of behavior that can be considered aggressive toward any living being, please separate them from your other pets and children when they are not supervised by responsible adults. Separate smalls and bigs.
- Hiding what happened feels icky and wrong
Gazeebo had just started his life with my family and was firmly settled in within months. He made every dog his friend, and he greeted all new humans with a silly dance and happy sneeze. A grumpy gus at night, he had his own little bed he would trudge to “after a long day at the mines” to recharge. Both he and Ranger liked to wake us up with head bonks and snuggling. They were best friends.
Ranger’s issues were with unknown humans, not with dogs, and even one of the pros we were working with said this was “nowhere on our radar.” He tried so hard to be a good boy.
We will always have What Ifs, If Onlys, How Could Is; frankly my confidence as a dog professional is shattered.
My family is working with professional mental health providers. Please accept this post as all the information you need. Allow us privacy at this time.