Goodbye Beren

 After years of waiting for a dog, I didn’t think when I finally got one, it would be for less than 5 years.  But after getting Beren and hearing the diagnosis of Ventricular Septal Defect when he was only a couple months old, I didn’t know what to expect anymore.  Truth is, in a lot of ways, it’s been a rough road for Beren and for us.  Last week we said goodbye, and I held him close as he was put to sleep.  Beren’s life never was very normal, especially for a Border Collie.  He was a great dog, forever studying me to learn my routines and patterns.  I’ve never seen a dog think the way Beren did.  I talked to him a lot, and I could reason with him.  He understood me so well.  Since he was blind in one eye, he liked to lean on me and stay close to me while I worked.  He pretended to be bold, but he was more of a scaredy cat.  Even though he wasn’t loud, the house seems so much quieter now.  I really miss him.

Expressive Arien

Arien is a very expressive cat.  It's really not that difficult to tell how she is feeling.  Normally her expression is a bit annoyed.  Hahahaha!  She's definitely the spoiled baby of the house.  😁

 

New Pics

I'm back!  Haha!  I am not sure why it took me months to get new pictures of Beren, Kira, and Arien or why I ended up waiting another month to actually post the pictures, but here we are.  😅  I think these are worth the wait.  I mean just look at how fluffy and crazy and cute they all are!  😍  I love these dumb dumbs even if they sometimes drive me insane and keep me from sleeping.  😂

National Dog Day

Beren didn't know what I meant when I told him that today is National Dog Day.  He was quite confused.  😂  Of course I had to get pictures of his buddies, Kira and Arien.  

Beren's 4th Birthday

Today is Beren's 4th Birthday!  I enjoyed throwing this little party for him yesterday.  I honestly was very surprised that he was fine wearing the hat, but I suspect he had some idea of what was going on.  I had to lock the cats out of the studio while I was setting up because Arien was quickly becoming obsessed with the streamers (check out that last picture for evidence).  Just like last year, he was reluctant to go into the studio since he is normally not allowed in there at all.  I had to coax him into position, but once he was sitting where I wanted him and was given his treat, he relaxed.

At the beginning, Beren was only licking his special birthday "cake".  He also kept knocking it off of the stand, making a bit of a mess.  Finally I intervened and broke a small piece off of the top half for him to eat.  Once he tasted that small piece, the rest of the top disappeared fairly quickly.  😂  I actually took away the bottom half to save for him to have today.  

I'm amazed at how fast these last 4 years have gone.  Beren has become much more chill this past year but also much more vocal.  He doesn't jump on people nearly as much as he used to when they come over, but now he whines out of excitement, which I actually find pretty adorable.  He really is such a good dog, and I love him so much.  ❤