So, I was going through some of my old, saved emails. Heck with spring cleaning – I’m all about the fall cleaning. I came across some saved emails I have from friends and blog readers from January. Early January to be specific. That’s when we had to let Gryffin go.

*sniff*

*sniff sniff*

OK, I’m back.

I decided to open a couple up to read them, and guess what? I started tearing up.

For the record, it’s great when that happens at work. I fully expected that guy from the corner office to chose that moment to stop by my desk. He is a dog lover, so I suppose he might have understood. Except he’d probably wonder why I was reading emails from January in September at my desk during normal business hours. Valid question, I admit. But I digress.

I know I’ve said this before, but it is important enough to me to say again.

Thank you.

Yes, you.

You are probably one of the ones that sent me an email or submitted a contact request through the site to tell me how sorry you were. And although I’ll probably never meet more than half of you, I want you to know that it still helps brush the cobwebs off my heart when I read those messages. And although I still tear up when I read them (heck, I’m tearing up now just thinking about reading them), it still makes me happy to remember just how many lives Gryffin touched, even virtually.

And just so you know, Gryffin would want you to comment on my blog posts. Frequently. And he’d want you to win a collar from 2HD. So make sure you get an entry (or 5) in by 5pm central time today!

Ozzy is a fantastic dog. To be honest, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. He’s a well-mannered (well, usually), happy dog. He has a fantastic appetite, hasn’t chewed on stuff he shouldn’t (unless Indy counts) yet, and has been very easy with house training.

Actually, I jokingly mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I should rename the blog to “The Daily Swizzle” because on average, that’s all we get. We’ve had a few multiple-accident days, but he will go for four or more days without having any at all. He knows he’s supposed to go outside, and he has very good control for a Swissy. He just hasn’t figured out how to tell us he needs to go. We are pretty good at watching his signals, but we don’t always get him out in time. Of course, it happens during or post play, right when we are trying to usher him to the door. He’ll get there soon, I think. (Or is it I hope?)

Ozzy is doing very well in our household in general. I do believe I’ve mentioned before that Indy loves him, but it’s important to note that I believe Beowulf, the old curmudgeon, actually enjoys his company. I have caught them cuddling and – gasp – playing just a little bit.

His socialization is going quite well. We have completed four weeks of Puppy K, and I believe he is the star of the class. Perhaps that’s what happens when you actually work with your dog on the basics before class starts, and when you work with him daily when it’s going. I could be wrong.

There is one thing about him that worries me. While Gryffin was a great dog for obedience because he WANTED to please us, Ozzy is just plain smart. The obedience comes quickly, and he enjoys it. But I have a feeling he’s doing it because he wants to and he likes it, not because it makes us happy at all. The reason this is worrying is because this is how Alex was-extremely smart, frequently extremely obedient, but cunning beyond belief. While I say I’m worried partially in jest, it’s not all funny-although I don’t believe this is the end of the world. Put Alex’s mad skillz into a dog that will likely end up near 140lbs and tall enough to graze counter tops, and you can see why we might have issues. I guess this means training, training, and more training.

In other news, the small puppy (we brought him home at eight weeks and around 13lbs) is no longer small. He’s around three and a half months old, and weighs in at 37lbs. Our vet met him this week and believes he’s around a quarter of his eventual size. We initially thought it was possible that Ozzy may end up on the smaller side, but we have since revised our opinion. Please send help.

That’s all for now. I hope all three of my readers have a fantastic weekend! Stay cool!

There are no pictures. That’s right, none.

The weather was cloudy and raining pretty much the entire time we were there. Not good for pictures at all.

I’ll admit I was a bit nervous or apprehensive about going. This was our first trip in 7 years that we took without Gryffin. He was always such a big part of our lives that I really wasn’t sure how it would go without him.

Oddly enough, it went really well.

Indy and Beowulf were actually fantastic in the truck on the ride out. I’m used to Indy being great in a vehicle, but not Beowulf. The sleeping part of the trip worked extremely well. Beowulf is usually on the bed (Alex would be there too…), and Indy and Gryffin would find places on the couches behind us as we use an air mattress out there. It would be normal to be woken up with a punch/kick/paw to the head/throat/you name it. That was Gryffin’s thing. Or he’d wake up and smack his lips for 20 minutes. While it certainly goes without saying that I would rather he’d be alive and well with us, the weekend went really well. I really didn’t expect it. Although I didn’t expect a disaster, either.

Yes, I was a little sad now and then. But it really seemed that when I was sad, Indy and Beowulf would do something incredibly cute or cuddly to make me happy.

It worked.

For his remaining litter mates, I hope you all had a wonderful Birthday today full of treats, belly rubs and practical jokes.

To everyone else:

Life is short. Play with your dog.