Before Mauja and Atka, an adorably high-maintenance husky/lab mix entered our lives. He was presumed to be about a year of age and had been bounced around his first year of life. When Nick and I went searching for our first dog as a married couple, we found Kaeto at the local shelter. He cautiously approached the edge of the kennel with his ears pulled back and his tail tucked under, but it only took a few minutes for him to lean in for some ear rubs. We were hooked.
We asked the shelter workers if we could take Kaeto out to the meet and greet area and we were able to see his personality emerge. He sprinted around, jumped on us, and tried to crawl in our laps. We knew he was going to be a handful, but he had a way of capturing your heart.
He went home with us that day.
As many of you know, Kaeto passed away a short 8 months later. The vets believed a blood clot in the brain was the cause, but at the time it was too painful to investigate further. We were just thankful to have that time with him.
So today, National Mutt Day, is for you, Kaeto. It’s for you and all of the other mixed breeds in shelters across the world.
Because of you, I became extremely interested in training and understanding dog behavior.
Because of you, I learned more in those 8 months than I ever thought possible.
Because of you, I learned techniques for reactivity, resource guarding, and separation anxiety.
Because of you, I understand the meaning of “velcro dog”.
Because of you, Mauja came into our lives (and now she has a particular love for huskies).
I’m sorry you left this world so early, but because of you, my life was changed forever.
Has a special mutt changed your life?
Wow, Kaeto was a true beauty. I’m so sorry your time with him was cut short, but I know he knew love and happiness because of you. 🙂
How very happy but tragic at the same time. I went through the same thing with my Sam. He passed away 5 months after I rescued him. But in those situations, I think it was meant to be. Kaeto could have died in the shelter or in a home that didn’t care like you did. Bless your heart. Kaeto was truly loved!
I guess Kaeto had one very important job to do in his short time with you. And it sounds like Mauja and Atka have benefitted from the lessons he taught you.
Lovely post.
Awe, what a beautiful tribute to such a gorgeous boy! <3
Kateo was lovely. And such a velcro dog lol! I wasn’t a dog person at all before Mr. N actually!
That was beautiful
Kaeto sounds like he was an amazing dog. So sorry that he had to leave this world too early. I have a special spot in my heart for rescue dogs and mixed breeds. Luna has taught me many of the same lessons. I had to laugh at the photo of him laying on your legs because Luna does the exact same thing.
Oh how sweet, Kaeto got to know true love before passing and he went quickly with no suffering. What a beautiful story. Love Dolly