Pet Woes

So this is Ozzy.....he's is a maltese......I love him dearly, I purchased him back in 2002 and had him flown all the way from Tennessee! At that time I did not have my youngest Brianna and wasn't even thinking about having another child at the time. So Ozzy was my baby, I cuddled with him and just ate him up. He has been with me since he was 9 weeks old and is a part of our family, here lies my dilemma.

Now since I have had Brianna (whom takes up so much of my time since the day she was born) Ozzy has had to take a backseat in my attention and my heart which I think was very hard for him at first. As of the last six months or so, he has become very aggressive when it comes to Brianna, meaning when she goes to pet him and such, he acts very odd and sometimes even goes to try and nip at her. His behavior is progressively getting worse and now is acting odd with others.....meaning my hubby.....who went to push him down the other day from his chair and Ozzy tried to bite him.

He seems to be getting worse in behavior the older he gets.....and as Brianna gets older and has friends over I am fearful of how he will be with children....clearly he has issues with small children and having them near him or touching him. I cannot tolerate this kind of behavior from a family pet, and I am fearing that if he continues to get worse that I will have to try and find a home for him with someone who does not have children.

So you can see my woeful dilemma, the thought of having to give him up breaks my heart, however, my daughters needs must come first and she is already fearful of other peoples dogs. I don't want her fears reinforced by her own dog. I am hoping that this day will never come, oh my, where is the Dog Whisperer when you need him. Unfortunately I could not afford his services even if I could get him here.