New(ish) family member

Hey, Hi, Hello

Its been just shy of a year since we introduced a fluffy new member into the family.

For those of you who have been around for a hot minute, know that we suddenly lost our old great dane Dakx at the beginning of 2022 while just setting out for an afternoon walk. Traumatizing as it was for us, it was also just as much so for our puppy, Grimlock, who was only 7 months old at the time. He saw everything and was whisked away into the house while we rushed his big brother to the emergency vet. We were grateful that he seemed to understand what happened, because when we came home without Dakx, Grimlock didn’t look for him. It was like he knew he was gone.

After that day we noticed a backslide in Grimlock’s confidence, he was always a bit on the shy side but new behavior’s emerged that worried us. He was suddenly wary of every single person who came into the house, going so far as to bark and run away from some of our friends whom he had already met before. Not to mention refusing to go for walks for a few weeks, and being cautious when he did finally concede to going out the front door. We talked a lot about getting him a playmate, but we wanted to ensure that any dog we brought in was a perfect fit. Every time we got close to getting a new dog, something held us back. We were still grieving and had difficulty imagining our home with another dog that wasn’t Dakx, and we wanted to ensure the timing was right.

Cue to that September, the day before we were set to drive to BC with Grimlock to visit family for a week. While playing cards and enjoying our morning coffee, I came across a facebook post showing this scruffy little Bernese-Appenzellar mix puppy, Enzo, in need of a new home. I should add, we never considered getting a long haired dog before due to my allergies and our gravitation to bigger, short haired breeds. Long story short though, we drove to Red Deer that afternoon to meet him, and he and Grimlock hit it off immediately. There was no way we could leave without him, so we made the choice to try our luck and brought both dogs on our little road trip. They did wonderfully together, we were surprised how easily this little 8 month old hairball fit in, and how quickly he became attached to us & Grimlock. Bonus points for not being too bad on my allergies too!

After getting home from that trip we started with getting Enzo familiar with our routines, which he flowed into effortlessly. We began to notice Grimlock becoming more confident and playful again. When we had friends and family over, they would make remarks as to how different Grimlock was, one actually saying "hes a whole different dog". Making the split decision to add a new family member who was essentially an emotional support dog for our current dog, is not something we would take lightly, nor should we, but im so glad we did. Enzo has such a hilarious, playful personality that compliments Grimlock’s sweet, snuggly nature to a T. Our home is full of playful puppy shenanigans again, and I am back to having two very adorable assistants, who ensure I take multiple breaks during the day to partake in said shenanigans.