In the world of owning pets, there always comes the closing of a chapter. We closed a chapter with our dear friend Sparty a few months ago. It was a difficult and heart wrenching moment for us, but we both knew it was time. Sparty was a very anxious animal and his anxieties were only getting worse. He was starting to become aggressive and even bit me once. The bite was just on the hand, but it hospitalized me for a night and 2 days. We weren’t able to find pet-sitters for him because of this and couldn’t take him out anywhere as well. We had become prisoners of his anxieties and his aggressiveness. If not for our fence, he likely would have attacked our neighbors grandchildren who were little but he was highly aggressive towards nonetheless. Our other dog lived in constant fear as he would bully her every chance he got. We knew he wasn’t living his best life and because of all this, neither were we.

The final ceremony was a wonderful celebration of Sparty’s life and his effects on us. Even though it was almost 3 months ago, I still get emotional thinking about it and how peaceful he finally was. He was spoiled with all sorts of treats dogs should and shouldn’t have and he was more relaxed then he had been in years. We watched his anxieties wash away as he slowly passed and we were able to talk to him and comfort him the entire time. It was truly a beautiful ceremony conducted in our home, his home, and we wouldn’t have wanted it to go any other way. We still miss him every day but know he is in a better place and frame of mind than he ever was here.

Fast forward a few months and we made the decision to start a new chapter of our lives with a new friend. Meet Enzo…

Enzo is a lemon beagle and he is only 13 weeks old as of this writing. He is an energetic puppy and loves to play and chew on things. We are working on his potty training as well as his desire to chew anything he can get his little jaws on. He is quite the handful at times, but we are getting along just fine as he is as loving as he is adventurous. He is learning to be in his crate as well as on a leash and is doing quite well with both. Our floors in the rooms we allow him to roam have likely never been as clean as they are now. Unless he finds the tissues, haha.

We are learning a lot about ourselves as we learn about him and his tendencies. He is a puppy after all and all that comes with having a puppy. In case you’re wondering, we didn’t buy him from a breeder, we rescued him from a foster type home. The snuggles we get from him when he tires himself out make all the puppy challenges worth it. Even our senior dog is able to tolerate him and sometimes she even plays with him herself. Melody enjoys the play times much better than the times she was being bullied. Cheers to new adventures!

*** UPDATE ***

We had to give up Enzo last week. Sadly the allergies and asthma attack that forced my wife into the ER made it impossible to keep him. So I guess it’s just sad goodbyes. 😦