Losing Roxy was one of the hardest things I have ever been through in my life. My heart still aches frequently at the void left by her absence evidenced by Riley's lonely trot across the back yard or missing her tiny little head peeking over the chair arm while we watch tv at night. Liam still recognizes her picture and on occasion will pick up an old toy and say "Roxy's" with a big grin on his face. He also says "bite" when he get hurt sometimes which is just as heartbreaking in a weird validating sort of way. I didn't think I was ready to open my heart again to another dog. Until we met Frankie B.
Frankie is an 18 month old Border Collie who was brought to Sicsa by his breeder owner along with his two sisters after she decided she couldn't care for them anymore. Frankie is affectionate and playful and has responded well to training. Best of all, he LOVES kids. We spent about three hours with him last week, both Liam and Riley in tow, and fell in love. We picked him up last Friday on a 'foster to adopt' trial basis and settled in to welcome him to our family. Liam loved him. They played, they kissed, they hugged. "Where's Frankie?" he would ask as we got home and then Liam would run up to help get Frankie out of his crate. Chris and I were feeling surrounded by the essence of Roxy's energy and loved having Frankie around. Riley was even getting a little spunk back in her step. The cats, however, were not impressed and Frankie decided the best thing this house had to offer was these cool four legged creatures who ran when he chased them. He became obsessive about the cats and could not be deferred to any other activity when one was around. Then he became increasingly agitated until he cornered one in what may have been an attempt to cause physical harm. Here we go again.
Leaving the house with a dog only to return home without one was a familiar trip for me and one that brought back a lot of pain. The training coordinator at Sicsa couldn't have been more helpful and felt Frankie probably chased cats on the farm where he used to live and his behavior would most likely not be changed. Our experience over the weekend only helped make the chances for Frankie's next placement to be successful that much greater. I am happy to have paid that karmic debt, but the sacrifice still cuts deep.
Today we returned home from a short walk with the one that's left and Liam looked at me and pointed to the stairs and asked "Where's Frankie?". "Home" I told Liam and I hope Frankie is soon.
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