As most people know, last 2017 though mid 2018 was the worst time of my life. It started with losing Scout unexpectedly to liver cancer in December, then finally losing Bliss to her horrible lung disease in May. Right after that, Rival and Gypsy were bitten by the copperhead and mom went into hospice. I was sure Rival had fully recovered from his horrible bite, just to find he had hemangiosarcoma in the location of the bite. It was shocking as we had just ultrasounded and xrayed him in April to look for cancer (knowing his sire had died of HSA) and he was clean. But the snake bite completely messed up his immune system and let latent DNA go crazy. I lost mom on July 10th and Rival 12 days later. Then two months later, Rob lost his Aussie to HSA as well but by that point I was numb and emotionless.
As often happens in life, things happen that we don't understand. Mako was born on my beloved Chance's birthday, 20 years later. And the breeder (who didn't know my Chance) named him Chance. I wasn't looking for a boy, but I was hoping for a pup related to Rival at some point, and this was likely my last chance (no pun intended!). But neither of the girls in the litter spoke to me. And little Chance did. I would have no way of knowing that Rival would die a mere week after bringing him home. This puppy walked into a complete shitshow. I had nothing to give him, and the other dogs were also grieving and adjusting without their benevolent leader, Rival. He was the king of my pack, the rock, and everyone's best friend. None of us knew how to be without him. But we had no choice.
The first six months of Mako's puppyhood are a blur. I did very little with him, as honestly just getting up every day was a challenge. I remember thinking that I couldn't wait until Mako was an adult, as I just didn't have the energy to raise a puppy. It wasn't until I saw some behavior issues emerging that I actually got myself in gear to work with him more. Thankfully, he was the kind of puppy that was okay without the emotional connection, he was happy to just play and wait for the bond to come. He's always been happy and definitely could make me laugh even when I was sad. He took it upon himself to lay on me every single time I cried. If I was behind a closed door crying, he'd try to break it down to get to me to provide comfort. Unfairly, I also found myself wishing I could just have Ri back, instead of him.
It's taken time to form a bond with him, and it's been slow to develop. It's never been about him, but about my mental and emotional state after sustaining all the trauma of last year. But from the beginning, Mako has very clear said I am his person and he's willing to wait until I am ready to open up to him. At this point, he's 16 months old and I think he's a pretty awesome dude. His temperament is just lovely, he's a working machine and sweet as can be. He is a lot of dog--way more than either I or the breeder expected. He's pushy, very physical and incredibly exuberant. But he's also very capable of being thoughtful in drive, which is huge.
He's been really good for the girls too---well except for maybe Rave, who still thinks he should go back! Mako and Surf are BFFs and he's helped her recover from all her bad experiences, maybe just as much as I have. He's never had a bad experience in his life, so he goes into everything head first and she follows his lead. It took Gypsy a while to warm up to him, but she enjoys playing with him now, when she feels like it anyway! She had a horrible time for about 6 months after Rival died, and didn't want anything to do with Mako. But he won her over with his persistent charms. :-)
The universe had a plan with this guy, and I am so glad he's a part of our family. Bruises and all!
