(deep breath)
On April 15, 2019 we had the veterinarian to our house and Leo was put to sleep. He had cancer and we made the difficult decision to not pursue surgical options, hoping to give him instead a bit more time enjoying the best life we could provide for him. It’s never expected, although we had a little more time than usual to prepare, and that was a gift in many ways.
trigger warning: sad pet story; peripheral violence
He came to us just a tad over three years ago, having spent the last three months in a high kill shelter in Merced, CA, then in two foster homes. When he left the 2nd one he watched out the rear view window for hours. We didn’t know anything about him except that he hated cameras, it was really hard for the shelter to get pictures of him to post. The two fosters told us he was a sweetie and mellow, even low energy. They tagged him as an Aussie-Border Collie mix.
Several years ago, J & I thought we needed a friend for Sasha. We thought she could use more play time and more time being non-people-focused. We wanted a dog about her size, male, friendly and calm. We hoped it wouldn’t be a swimmer, and it needed to be a rescue.
We looked. We went to events, and brought Sasha. It was a failure (although we did find the boys along the way). Frankly we gave up. Actually, we said, “if another dog is going to come into our lives, it needs to come to us. we aren’t going to look anymore.”
Meet Leo:
Leo
Leo has been fostering with my Mom for several weeks now. She loves him, but has some physical problems that make having a dog, even a perfect one, too difficult. I’ve loved all I’ve heard about him, and I feel he’ll be a great addition. He’s dog-friendly, cat-neutral, child-friendly, and apparently very mellow.
So my darling husband is driving to San Francisco this weekend to get him. Next week we’ll be integrating him into the house, and hoping all goes well.