Here's to the ones that we lost

I have always known I needed a dog in my life. Now, finding the right one took some time. When I was younger, we owned a couple different dogs, none of which stuck. I think a big part of that was my mom did not want the added responsibility as I was too young to fully understand the care they needed. Once I got into my teens, depression and anxiety hit hard. I felt something was missing, and it didn't take long to figure out what I thought would fill the void. That is how Mallia came to be in my family.

She is not the focus of this story, so I will keep her story short. She was about six or seven when we took her home. We found her on our local classifieds where they were re-homing her because their parents, whom they were living with, didn't like having her in the house. She was a very mellow, well trained pup, and had passed her puppy years. She had a nasty habit of getting into the garbage, but was otherwise the perfect dog. She lived with us until she passed away at 14 years young.

I was devastated. She had been a big part of my life and she had a knack for sensing when I was sad. We had another dog who we had rescued named Bolt, and they were quite the pair. But I missed having a big dog I could hug. So within a couple weeks, I was searching for another friend who was in need of rescue. There were many out there, most puppies who were quickly adopted, and many adults no one wanted. I found one that, according to the ad, fit the criteria I was searching for.

A five year old Labrador, house trained, well behaved, and a mere hour away. Since he was going to live in my parents house and be our family dog, my mom accompanied me. I also consulted my dad on it, and since he trusted my judgement, he didn't feel the need to meet the potential family member. We drove to meet the owners, who told us much of what the ad had said. They had rescued him from the pound, and if they couldn't find someone to take him, he would be going back. My mom and I were pretty smitten upon meeting him.

He was very friendly, eager to meet new people, and had a ball he carried around with him. He acted much like Mallia had upon meeting her, so my mom and I agreed to take him. He was very excitable on the way home, and although we'd just barely lost Mallia, he seemed a perfect fit. It was all down hill from there.

Firstly, he is most definitely not a pure bred lab. He has the lab head shape, but he is smaller and has a narrower figure. Along with that, he can jump or climb a chain link fence in seconds. So the first few days of having, he ran off multiple times. One night, he opened the window and jumped through the screen, running off into the night. After a couple hours searching, he returned by himself. I had initially been devastated, as we'd just gotten him. But after many times of running off, it became normal.

Now, this may sound like an annoyance, so why keep him around? He has many redeeming qualities. He loves us, he loves our other dog, and he is eager to please. The first night, I laid with him on the floor, for hours. It was the kind of relaxation I needed. He is a good guard dog, very smart, and friendly to other dogs we have met. Do we still have him over a year and lots of stress later? Yes. What did I learn about him?

He has major separation anxiety, and it has taken us months to be able to leave him alone without major destruction. He was not neutered, so we took care of that. He is now probably about two years old? However we are unsure his exact age. The previous owners revealed to me afterwards that he was left alone for 12 to 14 hours a day. I was naturally upset, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. In the end, we unwittingly fell into the cliche of getting a puppy during covid.