We lost our sweet Enzo very suddenly this week. We put him down upon discovering he had hemangioma sarcoma; his liver was covered with tumors and his abdomen full of blood and burst tumors. Even as he lay in my lap on the clinic floor in clear pain he was wagging his tail and enjoying the snuggling. He remained a gentle giant right up until his final breath. He is my 3rd dog in a row to die from this horrible cancer. We miss him terribly. I am writing this post mostly as a memory for Maria & Gio, to help us remember him in all of his fluffy, goofy glory. And so, here are Enzo's 5 years of life in photos and videos....
These initial photos came from our breeder- they were our first glimpses of our sweet Enzo (whose original name was "Quad Core").
No idea which one is our Enzo. There were 18 puppies in total at the kennel (two litters born the same week)!
In May of 2011 I flew from Kyiv to Frankfurt, Germany, to meet Enzo at the Lufthansa Cargo Terminal where he was waiting for me after his flight from Italy.
My very first glimpse.
He was very excited that I had dog food with me!
We hung out in a small grassy patch outside of the terminal waiting for our flight back to Kyiv.
How I love puppy froggy-legs.
His paws were HUGE!
And then he was back in his crate and off to the airplane cargo hold.
First day in Ukraine.
Meeting Gio (age 2) and Paolo. As you can see, Berners are lazy even as puppies!
And by lazy, I mean LAZY. Enzo refused to walk the 5 minutes up to the park so Gio gave up his stroller seat for him.
Ukrainians found this hilarious. We got lots of smiles and requests for photos.
After an exhausting stroller ride up to the playground....
Hardest thing for Enzo was dealing with our 4th floor apartment. We did not have an elevator and he very quickly became too heavy for me to carry.
We spent most of our time at Shevchenko Park where Enzo ended up in hundreds of photos.
Watching Gio & Paolo play soccer.
When we did not have the stroller....
Shopping trip at Epicenter.
His favorite spot in the car.
Puddles were a favorite of Gio's. Enzo did not like them, though he later developed a real love of water.
Supervising Gio's play.
Some park buddies.
We were stopped all the time.
After some play in the fountain.
About to surpass Gio in size!
At 4 months old Enzo returned to Italy, this time in our car.
At the awkward age of growth when everything is out of proportion.
Our house in Italy was not quite ready but we camped out. Enzo loved the cool tile floor.
A trip to Tuscany with Gio's godfathers Tim & Jay.
On the Tuscan beach.
Back in Kyiv in his favorite nap position.
Our Christmas card 2012
Sorry- this one is out of order but one of my favorites.
Napping on his favorite couch.
Enzo loved nothing better than a big Kyiv snow storm.
On our balcony.
Spring in Kyiv brought with it a lot of thunderstorms which terrified our sensitive fellow.
Hiding from the thunder.
Time to drive to Italy for the summer. Enzo always sat like this to take full advantage of the A/C vents.
Our 3 day drives to Italy always had a stop at this roadside inn that was next to this river. My two boys swam naked.
On the boat to Sardegna and a video of his first swim in salt water...
After a full day at the beach Enzo was not up to much other than being a puzzle box holder.
More beach time.
This one had Enzo-sized sticks for snacking.
Quite a lot happened between that trip to Sardegna and our return to Kyiv. Check out who Paolo is holding! Gio was thrilled to become a big brother.
This was Enzo's very best friend in Kyiv. Her name was Anuta and they were inseparable.
She spent every morning cleaning Enzo's ears.
Christmas Photo 2013
The winter of 2013-2014 was a very difficult time in Kyiv with a revolution taking place 10 minutes from our apartment.
Maria, Enzo & I took daily walks to visit the barricades and to check on the protesters.
Enzo got cheers from the crowd on this day when he peed on the newly fallen statue of Stalin. Such a revolutionary!
Enzo made the cover of a Swiss Dogs of Ukraine calendar. Can you find him? (right side, second dog up from the bottom)
Enzo's page.
Hanging out with Maria.
Back on the barricades.
Enzo's 3rd birthday!
Guess what Enzo did this past year? He became a father! Here he is with one of his puppies, his daughter Enzita!
Proud papa.
Enzo never missed Maria's bath time. He was very devoted to her.
Maria was so lucky to have two big brothers. She sure loved her furry one.
Back in Italy for the summer.
Our sweet cat Pepperoni had an accident just a month before we came to Italy and had to have a back leg amputated. It did not stop him from still getting first dibs on Enzo's dinner.
Maria also enjoyed checking out Enzo's bowl. Enzo never objected to either intruder.
Back in Kyiv. Maria loved sharing her meals with Enzo. He did not mind.
At our favorite restaurant in Kyiv- Milk Bar. Enzo was a semi-celebrity there.
Enzo was rarely destructive but did take issue with this stuffed cat.
Maybe it was the gold balls the cat was sporting?!
The time was coming for us to move to South Africa. Maria loved Enzo's cage for the trip. Enzo was less enthusiastic about it.
Before the big move to South Africa we got to take Enzo to Italy for what turned out to be his final summer there.
Maria's sandbox was one of his favorite places.
A new friend.
Getting used to it.
Some final outings in Kyiv.
Pretty in pink.
And then he was off to the airport for the journey to South Africa.
After a long trip and 10 days in quarantine Enzo was released. These were his first minutes in our new garden....
Enzo loved having his very own swimming pool.
As the summer arrived in Pretoria and the temps rose Enzo spent more and more time lounging in the pool.
Best friends.
In December we adopted Bruno from South African Bassett Rescue. Enzo was thrilled to have a new brother.
Maria loved having the boys help her with puzzles.
Eventually she usually just joined them in their naps.
An evening walk on the golf course.
A post-swim rest.
You may have noticed Maria spends a lot of time sitting on Enzo. He never objected.
Yep. Enzo still let Pepperoni have the first taste.
With a new friend Walter. Enzo always loved puppies.
Every evening we took a walk around the golf course. Almost always Pepperoni followed along.
Off to the Drakensberg Mountains. This would turn out to be Enzo's final trip with us.
Luckily our hotel was VERY pet friendly!
Heading home and enjoying the A/C, as always.
This is the final photo I took of Enzo. He died 3 days later.
Writing this post made me smile quite a lot but also to cry. I still cannot really believe Enzo is gone. It was so sudden and unexpected. We did not have enough time with him. We love you, Enzo. I hope you are having a swim in the ocean right now. Rest in Peace, dear boy.
