Dog Days
Today was Dakota's last day.
We got up, played with him, and fed him breakfast. We gave him an ice cube. He likes that they're cold. He chases them around for a while and then, when they're small enough, he eats them. It's like a zero-calorie treat.
He went outside to go potty. We played outside for a bit, and I took him for a walk. Then he went to work digging a hole by our hedges.
A moth had flown into our house overnight - big guy with at least a two inch wingspan. Dakota found it and ate it, but not after torturing it for a minute. It was a gruesome spectacle, but he seemed to find the whole thing delicious.
He watched with glee as I loaded the dishwasher.
He sat by my feet while I ate lunch.
For some reason, he decided to start digging in his water bowl (which I had just filled). After using his paws to splash water everywhere, he upended the whole thing on the floor.
In the afternoon, him and I took a nap together. We both favor our backs when we sleep.
While he was asleep I gathered all of his things. His toys, nail clippers, hair brushes and leashes, and put them on the dining room table to sort out later. I took down his crate and the baby gates and put them in the garage. It was hardest, not seeing all the toys and things he played with, but seeing all the brand new stuff we'd bought him that he'll never get to use: toys, bones, ear medicine. Worst of all was an adult size leash that we'll never get to see him grow into.
He woke up when
jordana20 came home. We played for a while, then let him say goodbye to the house.
He must have been tuckered out from all the playing (despite the two hour nap!), because he slept with his head on my lap the entire car ride. Not even the Beltway traffic bothered him!
Then we arrived at his breeder's place. He clearly remembered it, and jumped out of the car and ran around in ecstasy. It made us feel so much better to see him as happy as he was. We told the breeder that he was very good at sitting (and could hold still for almost five seconds! That's sitting at an eight grade level, and he's only nine weeks!). We let her know that he would eat everything in the yard he could find, and that even though we put vinegar, tobasco sauce, and special bitter spray on his leash he would STILL walk around with it in his mouth. Finally, we let her know that his favorite radio station was classical.
We gave her a bag of food and his two favorite toys: a "Lil' Buddy" squeak toy and a rope bone that he likes to have soaked in water and then frozen. We also gave her back the towel she'd given us, the one that smelled like his litter mates. Finally, I gave her a shirt I'd worn the previous day - just a little something to remember me by. My hope is that being able to smell me close by will make things easier on him those first few nights without us, his first human family.
We found out that he will be going to a very good home: a mom who works out of her house, so he'll always be sure to have company and will never be lonely. She owns a place on the Chesapeake, which is good because all goldens love swimming and because he'll finally be able to get wet without upending his water bowl. That's exactly what we wanted. Someone who could spend every moment with him. Someone who could make sure that he lived the best life a puppy ever had - because that's what he deserves more than anything, and it's why we couldn't keep him.
We miss him horribly, and will always love him, but we feel a profound sense of peace knowing that we sent him on his way to a much happier life. Our last sight of him that we'll ever get was of him smiling his puppy smile, tail wagging, and looking at the world with unbridled joy in his big brown eyes.
Who's a good puppy? YES YOU ARE!
We love you, Dakota, and we miss you.
We got up, played with him, and fed him breakfast. We gave him an ice cube. He likes that they're cold. He chases them around for a while and then, when they're small enough, he eats them. It's like a zero-calorie treat.
He went outside to go potty. We played outside for a bit, and I took him for a walk. Then he went to work digging a hole by our hedges.
A moth had flown into our house overnight - big guy with at least a two inch wingspan. Dakota found it and ate it, but not after torturing it for a minute. It was a gruesome spectacle, but he seemed to find the whole thing delicious.
He watched with glee as I loaded the dishwasher.
He sat by my feet while I ate lunch.
For some reason, he decided to start digging in his water bowl (which I had just filled). After using his paws to splash water everywhere, he upended the whole thing on the floor.
In the afternoon, him and I took a nap together. We both favor our backs when we sleep.
While he was asleep I gathered all of his things. His toys, nail clippers, hair brushes and leashes, and put them on the dining room table to sort out later. I took down his crate and the baby gates and put them in the garage. It was hardest, not seeing all the toys and things he played with, but seeing all the brand new stuff we'd bought him that he'll never get to use: toys, bones, ear medicine. Worst of all was an adult size leash that we'll never get to see him grow into.
He woke up when
jordana20 came home. We played for a while, then let him say goodbye to the house.
He must have been tuckered out from all the playing (despite the two hour nap!), because he slept with his head on my lap the entire car ride. Not even the Beltway traffic bothered him!
Then we arrived at his breeder's place. He clearly remembered it, and jumped out of the car and ran around in ecstasy. It made us feel so much better to see him as happy as he was. We told the breeder that he was very good at sitting (and could hold still for almost five seconds! That's sitting at an eight grade level, and he's only nine weeks!). We let her know that he would eat everything in the yard he could find, and that even though we put vinegar, tobasco sauce, and special bitter spray on his leash he would STILL walk around with it in his mouth. Finally, we let her know that his favorite radio station was classical.
We gave her a bag of food and his two favorite toys: a "Lil' Buddy" squeak toy and a rope bone that he likes to have soaked in water and then frozen. We also gave her back the towel she'd given us, the one that smelled like his litter mates. Finally, I gave her a shirt I'd worn the previous day - just a little something to remember me by. My hope is that being able to smell me close by will make things easier on him those first few nights without us, his first human family.
We found out that he will be going to a very good home: a mom who works out of her house, so he'll always be sure to have company and will never be lonely. She owns a place on the Chesapeake, which is good because all goldens love swimming and because he'll finally be able to get wet without upending his water bowl. That's exactly what we wanted. Someone who could spend every moment with him. Someone who could make sure that he lived the best life a puppy ever had - because that's what he deserves more than anything, and it's why we couldn't keep him.
We miss him horribly, and will always love him, but we feel a profound sense of peace knowing that we sent him on his way to a much happier life. Our last sight of him that we'll ever get was of him smiling his puppy smile, tail wagging, and looking at the world with unbridled joy in his big brown eyes.
Who's a good puppy? YES YOU ARE!
We love you, Dakota, and we miss you.