In the fall of 2014, we met a wonderful woman & her sweet husky pup named Ares. Around this time we found that Duchess was a Husky mix, so we were invited to join a local Husky group.
Over the next year we'd attend a handful of Husky and get to know Stacey & her boy Ares. Soon she added another Husky, Akira, to the mix. I adored these handsome boys. They were very vocal when coming to the meets.
In 2016, after bringing in Peryn, we began to meet up with Stacey & her boys regularly. Ares and Akira were Peryn's first friends. Akira was often Peryn's wrestling buddy.
Throughout 2016 my three, Peryn, Duchess, & Athena would meet up with Stacey's two, Ares & Akria. I jokingly called Ares my boyfriend cause I just thought he was so handsome. All of Peryn's buddies, outside of the family, were huskies. He learned to play rough.
My kids got excited to meet up with them. When Lada joined, her first meetup with them was quite memorable because he put big ole Akira in his place and they were BFFs after that.
Outside of our meetups at the local dog parks, our pups attended daycare together. My kids always greeted them with enthusiasm and I always made sure to say Hello to my sweet boys.
Except for Ziva, all my kids have met them. Ziva was too young & the boys began having various health issues.
Stacey let me know earlier this year that Ares was not doing well. Eventually, after numerous tests, cancer & diabetes were the culprits. When his health began to decline significantly, I made a trip to visit him in October.
He reminded me of Athena. Once a healthy robust pup, now a skinny shadow of himself. He was partially/mostly blind, but still had his spunk. I got lots of loving from the 2 of them. It was heart breaking that his time was winding down. His diabetes was out of control and his tumors were growing.
It was a good visit.
Last week Stacey reached out to me to let me know it was about time for Ares to meet up with Duchess & Athena and the rest of my pack he had yet to meet. On Christmas eve, I took another trip to visit my sweet boy. He was completely blind and much more subdued than my pervious visit. It broke my heart.
This once majestic dog who was so full of life and attitude was a shadow of his former self. He was happy to smell me & it just hurt to see him, knowing this was my last time. I had wished I could have brought Peryn & Lada, but it wasn't the time or place.
Today, around the time this posts, Ares is making his journey. He'll be reunited with all his past husky pals and my pack. He'll be free of pain and be able to see again. He'll see his big sibling, Malibu, and he'll leave my sweet buddy Akira. I hurt for Stacey and her family as they say goodbye to such a ball of life.
Ares was a very vocal singer and just loved to play and swim with all his friends.
At any park or meetup you could always tell when Stacey & her boys arrived. They would go nuts and could be heard from the parking lot when they arrived. Going to miss his sweet face & voice.
I'm going to make sure I pay Akira extra attention now that he's going to be an only pup. I'll have to make sure Lada spends time with her BFF (cause she adores him).
Ares, my sweet boy, run free of pain & suffering. Have fun with all your pals waiting for you at the end of the Bridge.
Stacey, We love you. We're sorry you have to go through this and we're here if you need.
All our love
Peryn, Lada, Volos, & Ziva
Rich & Laurie
