ISO Home for a Beautiful Blue Heeler - Special Needs - Please Read

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I write this with a somber heart. I'm searching for the right home for my dog, Bandit a 35lb 2-3-year-old male Blue Heeler mix. This home must have experience and confidence with dogs that have bitten humans due to fear-based reactivity. Someone who can give Bandit the care and life he requires. He truly is a special dog who deserves love and has so much love to give you. I require that Bandit either go to a professional training camp or have an experienced in-house trainer for him and his new owner to hopefully prevent any future injuries to others. I do not have enough money to pay for this upfront, but I am able to pay in installments if someone is willing to pay for him to start training. I am also open to splitting the cost if that is feasible for you. I am looking for someone who can help me do right by Bandit. Below is some background info. I will be happy to answer any questions. If you are interested in meeting Bandit or have helpful resoursces for re-homing, please reach out and we can schedule a time. Please note that Bandit has always needed special care, but that the dangerous behavior began only 3 months ago. He use to go to Pet Paradice day care in town without any issues multiple times a week. I adopted Bandit in April 2020. A woman asked me to take him after her son abandoned him with her outside Grand Junction, CO. She said he was 8 months old. I took him to the vet to get neutered. The vet suspected that Bandit was older. Unfortunately, there was a complication during surgery and our first 3 weeks together consisted of me helping Bandit with everything until he healed. I started training right away. He was amazing! He knew nothing and was terribly scared, but only improved. I brought in a professional trainer to evaluate Bandit and I. The trainer said we were doing great and gave me pointers. In June 2020 we hit the road in my van with my partner and had an incredible and hard year. Bandit had his struggles, but I was always able to work through them. I'm not going to lie, it was a ton of work. He couldn't walk on or off a leash, he was scared of everything. It was a pleasure to work with him despite the challenges. In November 2020 I sunk into a deep depression and continue to live with mental health issues. In December 2021 I moved out of the van into a home with 6 people and 2 other dogs. Bandit did well enough, but I was not giving him what he needed. My roommates helped, but I was struggling. At the end of April 2022, Bandit bit my roommate in the face causing severe bruising and a cut on her cheek that required stitches. Leading up to the bite, my roommate was giving Bandit a command and he wasn't listening, she stomped her foot once while bending over down to him and giving the command (dominantly, not aggressively). I give this for info for Bandits' behavior, not to assign any blame. Although Bandit had shown mild signs of aggression in other situations, I decided to try and handle his training on my own after this bite. I did the best with the tools I had and I am proud of what I have done for Bandit. However, it was not enough. In March 2022 I moved into a new home with new people. I gave them all the information I had about Bandit's history. On April 6th, Bandit snapped at a visitor who hugged him while he was scared. No contact was made, no injury. I decided I needed professional help, I communicated with my roommates to be safe. The very next day my current roommate went to hug Bandit in bed (as she had been doing because she loved and trusted him), and Bandit bit her in the face causing serious injury to her upper lip. I want to emphasize the damage Bandit caused these two people as serious. I've made the hard decision that I am not capable of giving Bandit what he needs now that his aggression has become so unpredictable. Even after he goes through training I will not be enough. There are endless things I wish I did differently and I take responsibility for my errors. I wish I could have prevented this and kept these people and Bandit safe. I did my best and once you meet Bandit you'll see that he can be helped. Please reach out if you may be the home this dog deserves. Thank you.