We may still someday try drugs, god knows they have helped the rest of my family! 
Regarding the disarming, you are correct. I simply see no need to spend this type of money on THAT and put him through the procedure and adjustment when we have found a rather innocuous method to alleviate the danger. Granted, there still remains the possibility that a finger could slip the muzzle and be injured, but it's less likely than an injury related to dull teeth. I think, psychologically, that a bite from a dog with flat teeth would be more traumatic than a dog bumping his face into you in an attempted bite. With the muzzle, the 'bite' does not occur. With flat teeth, the bit still occurs. The money spent on a possible sanctuary situation, in my opinion, is a better option for now because things are working at this point. It's the eventual child factor we are preparing for. Muzzle or not, disarmed or not - it will be an entire new element in the equation. Tucker may turn into a kids most valuable defender, or, he may try to eat a kid. We just can't know that now.
What I can't remember whether or not I have posted is that during all of this, he suffered a lens luxation in his right eye. Currently, we're administering eyedrops to the tune of around $200/month to keep inflammation and eye pressures at bay. So far, so good. The eye specialist says the other lens will go at some point, but cannot define a timeframe. Some the next day, some never - but never is very rare. So in addition to the other issues, there's blindness on one side. I did have him checked for head trauma from his past - no evidence. According to the doctor, a dog would have to simply be knocked completely stupid and potentially killed for a lens to come loose due to impact or head trauma. I had him checked because he stepped through an open set of concrete stairs and whacked his face on the step just prior to the lense coming loose. No cuts or bleeding, but in hindsight, I remembered he had done that prior to the luxation. If the other DOES go, we will opt for the micro-surgery (another $5K) to preserve sight in the remaining good eye. The doc says dogs adapt with one good eye and function 100% normally (with the exception of the occasional wall he bumps into on that side). Having weighed all the options (drops, eye removal and the micro surgery), we, along with the doctor, decided, presently, the drops were the way to go. I also didn't think he would adjust too well to the required 6 weeks in an Elizabethan Collar. If you don't have VPI Pet Insurance, I highly recommend it. It cuts the surgeries by around 40% and it's been well worth it for Tucker. It also pays for a considerable amount of his drugs and the office visits to the specialists and regular vet visits we've endured this (and other) year(s).
Some of this is personal preference, some are assumptions. I'd like to think I've done the best for him that I could have given our circumstances. Considering all that we have endured this year (behaviorist kill diagnoses, lens luxation, integration of a nutcase drunk into our home and a move), I think he's done quite well. The move, especially, went as slick as it could have possibly gone. He's adapted almost immediately. He's only tried to REALLY bite 3 people since the muzzle went on and that wasā¦.geeze...March or so? One was in the past 2 weeks and I don't really count it because it was a locksmith. Who doesn't want to bite a locksmith??? 
The main difference now is that he quickly realizes he can't do any damage and life goes on whether he's tried to bite someone or not. While he used to shake and rattle for a while after the 'incidents', he now just skulks away and ignores the situation.
As for abuse, we are assuming. According to the previous owner, there were just two of them. They had a limited social life and did not have many guests into their home. Therefore, I imagine Tucker bonded with them both. When wife got pregnant, the bond shifted from wife and 'bun in the oven', leaving hubby out of the picture. Tucker became aggressive toward the husband in defense of the wife and unborn child in her belly. All incidents they reported to me after I realized the situation I was in once I adopted him, and incidents occurred on my end, appeared to be in defense of the wife and unborn child. The main reasons we assume abuse was that he was rehomed 4 times in his first 6 months of life and came to the family before me with the broken tail. The bone protrudes from the end of the fur/skin. It's bare bone there. Indicative (based on what I've read, observed myself from flinging squirrels by their tails as an incorrigable teenager and upon observation from several veterinarians) of a pull-off rather than a cut (like from a door or crate shut on it). Something that occurred to me as I read responses last night is something new to me. It never dawned on me that there could be nerve damage in his tail and rear-end that could be causing him pain. Combine that with the fact that I have only seen him wag his tail about 3 times in 4 years might mean something I've thus far missed. However, I can touch his tail and he doesn't appear to react which is why this has never, until now, occurred to me before. I have even wagged it for him with my fingers. He pretty much reacted like I would think any other dog would. He looks over his shoulder and snorts at me and, if he could talk, I would imagine he would be saying something like, "Dude....WTF?"
Tucker will not be allowed to hurt anyone ever again. He will also, as long as I have a say in it, be able to live the rest of his life.
Right now am contemplating a new shot for gum bacteria even though my vet and my old research vet say wait a couple of years til it has been out longer.
