Living the Good Life!

Taking a break from the seemingly never ending chore of packing to reflect on something incredibly important to me.  In fact I can't believe it has taken me this long to mention it, but I miss my dog.  No he's not up in that big back yard in the sky.  Quite the opposite actually, he has retired to Naples Florida.  He's living the good life; sunshine, big backyard, and a new best friend in my mother.  Here's a picture of them bonding, aren't they cute!?

So why is he in Florida with my parents instead of here helping me pack you may ask?  Well, the quarantine laws in Ireland are quite strict for anyone outside of the EU.  They require a 6 month stay in a designated quarantine facility at the owners expense.  Check out the list of other requirements here:  Ireland department of agriculture  The thought of putting our baby in puppy prison for six months was beyond comprehension, not to mention putting him in the belly of a plane for six hours!   It would take one giant xanax to keep  him  me calm.

So it was a fairly easy decision, albeit a sad one, to not take Parker with us to Ireland.  However, where to leave him here in the US was an entirely different story!  You see my parents did not step up to the plate right away and offer their dog sitting services.  In fact I think my mother flat out said NO when first asked if she would like to have her grand-dog come to live with her.  Many people said they would love to take him, but just couldn't.  I don't blame them. While Parker is no longer a puppy; and therefore not a threat to indoor bathroom breaks, and using your shoes as a chew toy, he is not without responsibility.  A dog at any age is a huge responsibility, and Parker is no exception.  So when all our friend options for Parker adoption fell through my parents took pity and begrudgingly offered to shelter our pup.

What a huge relief it has been.  I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank them for doing this for us, and for Parker.  They even went so far as to install an electric fence in their yard.  Because we have always lived in a condo with common property Parker has never know his own yard and what it is like to run free without a leash!  So, while I miss my dog to pieces right now, I take comfort in knowing that he is living out his senior years in style with the rest of the retirees down in Naples!

And now the most exciting part of this blog post... A parker picture montage!  Here is a look back at our baby over the years.  Feel free to oooh and awww over each of these pictures, I did!

Baby Parker

 The day we brought him home.

Just Chillin'

There is a theme at work here:

All dressed up and no where to go

OUCH!

Hanging with Lizzie Lu

Family Photo!

Good Dog.