Mack

One year ago, I brought Mack home to live with me. It was a leap of faith, bringing this 91-pound barrel of energy into my world, not knowing how we would learn how to live together. He was as sweet as he was big, and I knew that we would figure out life together.

Fast forward to today and we are as close as if I were his birth mother. We have had an adventurous year, starting with visitors from California 3 weeks after he moved in with me. This included a 3-year-old boy, who thought Mack was a horse to ride. Mack simply looked at him, as if to say, ” ride ’em, cowboy!” He became best friends with my son’s dog, Lulu, A Pit/German Shorthair Pointer mix; they wrestle as if they are on WrestleMania, then snuggle like littermates.

Mack has become the darling of the neighborhood, greeting every person with a full wiggle-butt and a quick barked greeting. The garden is a favorite place for him to chase birds and butterflies, with an occasional chase of a bunny or squirrel. He doesn’t care that there are flowers in the garden beds, as he gallops his happy way through.

Two sessions of obedience classes were mostly successful, though he still needs work on walking on a leash. He is as strong as a Mack truck!

Summer camp, twice for a week at a time, brought adventure and exposure to several hundred people. The clinic in which I work, takes care of around 50 people a day. Every person that walked into the clinic asked to pet him; several laid on the floor with him. The most heartwarming moment happened when a young woman with special needs came in with a stomachache, which turned out to be homesickness. The astute doctor realized what the true issue was and offered to take her and Mack for a walk. The following day, this young woman said that walking Mack was just what she needed. Wow – a true therapy dog!

Mack learned to swim in Lake Michigan, waves and all. He has been introduced to many dogs and gets along with every single one. There is something so gentle about this dog – he knows the difference between a wrestling friend vs. a friend to sit near and co-exist. A gentle giant with a sweet soul – that’s my Mack.

A flood in my house during the summer caused us to be displaced for several weeks, staying at my parents’ house, as well as several friends’ houses. Every house was a new adventure for Mack, and he was respectful of every person and every home.

His nicknames are numerous – Mack-a-doodle, Mack Attack, Big Mack, Mack and Cheese, Bubba, Macky, Mack-Mack-Mack, and he answers to all of them.

My heart is full, thanks to this sweet boy, who changed my life one year ago today. I am grateful every day for this sweet, clumsy, 72-pound, energetic ball of love. Thank you for knowing that we belong together. We do.

Much love,

Kathi and Mack