This is not a post about shopping,
or about this ridiculous day where consumerism is king.
No, this is a post about love and loss
and a little bit of a broken heart.
Regular readers of this blog know that I have two dogs,
Belle and Havok.
This pretty girl is sweet baby Belle.
My husband already had her when we got married,
and although she is elderly in Husky years ( 10 ), she is
still playful and full of life.
Feeling as though Belle was quite lonely as an "only dog",
I was fortunate enough to contact a lovely couple who
were having to give up their own beloved Husky, Havok...
My favorite photo ever of Mr. Twig giving Havok a bath...
such trust, such love.
We've had Havok approximately two and a half years,
and during that time, we've found him to be a wonderful pup...
loving and loyal, but always very skittish and nervous.
Some might even say high-strung.
Belle immediately let him know who the Alpha dog was ( her, of course ),
and he didn't challenge her dominance.
But still there would be minor scuffles.
Most were minor, but some were not...blood was shed...and almost all of them were started
by the old girl, Belle.
She was basically harmless, as Havok was much younger, bigger,
stronger, still had all his sharp teeth.
Whereas Belle...sweet, often clueless Belle ( who by now is missing quite a few teeth ),
would playfully charge Havok,
and him being the nervous pup he is, would react in defense mode,
several times sending Belle to the vet with a nasty bite.
It all came to an unexpectedly vicious head two days ago,
when one of their fights got out of control,
the Mr. had a near impossible time breaking it up,
and this morning, my sweet old girl Belle is at the vet
having her eye removed.
Still, they had a bond. They were a pack.
The minute my husband rushed Belle to the emergency vet,
Havok went into a panic that she was gone.
{ Havok left, Belle right }
I don't blame Havok, I don't blame Belle.
It's just the nature of the beast, pardon the pun.
Dogs being dogs, and loving them both,
I knew that we couldn't risk this happening again and
something had to be done...they simply could not continue to live together
and this realization has torn my heart in two.
God answered my prayers, in that when I contacted the
wonderful couple who had had to reluctantly surrender Havok several
years ago, they were not only in a position to take him back,
but they had missed him badly, and were quite thrilled
at the prospect of having him back.
This gladdens my heart, as I simply could not have
surrendered my baby boy to a shelter, even a no-kill one.
This photo and the one below were taken just today,
as Havok searches intently for Belle and Mr. Twig, whimpering and nervous.
I even took the day off work today to spend extra time with him before
he leaves tomorrow.
And so tomorrow morning he returns to his old family, his old pack.
Tomorrow afternoon my precious, now one-eyed girl returns home.
I'm pretty sure my heart will never be the same,
and anyone who has ever loved a dog understands this.
Goodbye and godspeed, sweet boy...Mama will miss you.
P.S.
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