Goodbye, Little Dog

When we moved away from the only house our dog knew, and took up residence with him in a condo, he was shocked but we hoped he would settle in over time.

Moving from his own fenced-in backyard with his special dog door was a big change. He learned not to bark at strange noises outside the door and he learned to walk on a leash wherever we went, but he had to beg for walks and was restricted to 3 or so walks a day. Sometimes those walks were long and exciting but sometimes they were shorter depending on available time.

When we traveled, our son took care of the little dog, but late last summer they moved across the water to the countryside not too far from Sequim. It was a ferry ride plus an hour or so drive each way to deliver and pick him up.

A few weeks ago, a niece and her family, who live in the county not too far east of us, volunteered to watch Kudo while we were on a short trip away from home. Her family has another dog (Chewy) and we weren't sure how the two would get along. They wanted to get another dog to keep Chewy company so we thought it would be good to see if the two dogs could get along.

After our trip I went to pick up Kuro. He had made friends with Chewy and niece reported that they had a good time playing together. 

Kuro was happy to see me but as I prepared to take him home, he was a little reluctant to hop into the car as he usually does. Instead he stopped at the end of the sidewalk and looked back and forth between me and the house.

We took Kuro to visit again last weekend while we were in Vancouver for Ikuko's singing recital.

This time we discussed adoption with our niece.  Her family was in favor and, although we knew we would miss him, we wanted Kuro to have a chance to live a good dog's life with a loving family, a dog buddy and more freedom to run.

Kuro exploring his new yard

New smells and new places, all off leash

Kuro and Chewy playing together. 

When we got ready to leave this time, we could see Kuro had mixed feelings.  He remembered his first family but he was happy with his new family.  As we went out the door, he stayed inside. 

We'll miss him but we want him to have a free and happy life unrestricted by life in a condo. It's nice to know we have visitation privileges and I plan to take both dogs on walks as I have time. 

Meanwhile, goodbye, little dog.  I'll miss you on my walks but wish you well in your new home.