Will

We had to put our dog, Will, to sleep on Friday afternoon.  He's a miniature pincher with really sharp teeth! He loved me, Taylor and Brittney.  He tolerated Steve, the boys and kids who came over.  He wanted to attack any adult who invaded our territory.  He was already 2 years old when we got him and was a very loyal dog to those he loved.  His favorite place was to snuggle himself under blankets and curl up to sleep.  He could jump straight up 4 feet with out even getting a running start.  I felt totally secure with him around.
But we couldn't trust that he wouldn't attack people.  He was already on record for attacking a guy that rode his bike by our house this winter.  The kids were playing in the driveway and had left the garage door open.  The bike guy got off his bike and went toward the kids and will attacked his leg.  We had to let Animal Control know.  Will also attacked our baby sitter when she followed the kids into the house.  He's also nearly bitten my dad a couple of times. 
When I called the vet on Monday to check prices and times for putting him down, they told me I could get in that day.  That was a bit too soon for me and I also wanted to give the kids some time with Will before I took him in.  So we scheduled for 5:20pm on Friday.
I talked to the kids all week and we were all spoiling Will for the rest of the week.  Brittney thought she wantd to go to the vet with me but by the time we were leaving, she decided not to.  So it was just me and Taylor.
The vet was wonderful.  Taylor and I petted Will in the exam room while we waited for them to get everything ready.  Then the ven and her assistant came in and had me put a little muzzle on Will so they could give him a shot in his hip to sedate him.  I held him while they administered it.  As soon as that shot was given, they let me take the muzzle off so he would be comfortable and calm.  They said that medication would take about 5 minutes to take effect.  They left the room to give the medication time and also to give us some time with Will.  By the time they came back into the room, Will was really relaxed sleepy.  I held him in my arms, wrapped up in his own blanket from home, and petted him while they brought over the syringe with the pink fluid in it.  The vet very carefully explained everything she did before she did it.  The pink fluid would stop his heart, probably very quickly.  Once she injected it, I kept holding Will and masaging his head and Taylor put her little face right by his nose and talked quietly to him, telling him it was ok.  After a minute, she checked for Will's heartbeat.  She let us know that his heart was slowing down.  After another minute or so, she said that his heart had stopped.  The vet wrapped will up and carefully placed his body in the container I brought and carried him to the van for us.  He's now buried on my family's farm.