Have you ever looked back on a tough situation and realized how God had his hand in every single circumstance and moment along the way? This happened for me recently, and I can’t stop marveling at how detail-oriented God is.

We had a situation last week. Mavis bit Sadie’s face.

Ever since Mavis was attacked by our neighbor’s dog just a few weeks after we brought her home in 2017, she has struggled with fear. Usually, the fear would come out as aggression. If we woke her up while she was sleeping, it startled her and she would growl. If someone came too close to her food, she was afraid it would be taken away, so she would growl.

As Sadie has grown into a toddler, I think her presence kind of scared Mavis. I can imagine she was a little freaked out at Sadie being in her space and wanting to touch and play with her all the time once she could walk and reach Mavis on the couch.

Things started to get worse over the past few months. If Mavis was on the couch and Sadie walked past her, she would growl. If she touched her, she would snap. Last week, Sadie simply walked past Mavis and I guess she had enough and just decided to bite Sadie’s face.

It happened while I was in the same room, and hearing Sadie’s cry was horrible. It brings tears to my eyes as I type this. It was one of those cries that a parent absolutely dreads, that cry of pain. I picked her up, hugged her like a mama bear, and checked her over. The bite wasn’t bad, but Mavis did break the skin.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably know how much time, energy, and love we invested in Mavis since the day we brought her home.

I’m pretty sure I did more updates on Mavis as a puppy than I did for Sadie as a baby, lol. We socialized Mavis, took her to training classes, she earned her AKC Star Puppy title, and we had big dreams of her becoming a therapy dog.

Over time, I started to realize she might not be cut out for therapy work, and I was okay with that. She had some fear issues, as I mentioned above. To see her bite Sadie, though, really freaked me out and Jimmy and I decided that she needed a different home. Sadie was bothering her, and we didn’t want another bite incident.

My heart aches. I met little May May when she was five weeks old and brought her home when she was eight weeks. Rehoming her was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. This is where God came in and took care of things like only He can.

When we decided to find a new home for Mavis, a woman in our neighborhood immediately came to mind. She is retired and has a few dogs, three of which are cocker spaniels. She makes and sells homemade dog food (which we’ve actually bought and Lola and Mavis loved!), too.

I texted her and explained what happened and asked if she wanted to adopt Mavis. She said yes immediately. She told me had been looking to adopt a cocker spaniel but each time she found one that seemed like a good fit, it was spoken for at the shelter already. She put the matter aside, and then I texted her. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!

So, Mavis has a new family. She now lives just two streets away from us and is getting so much love. The whole situation just fit together like a puzzle.

I could not have chosen a better owner for her. She knows her stuff with dogs, and especially with Mavis’ breed. I know she’s in good hands, and we’ll still be in her life.

We miss Mavis so much. I’ve cried. A lot. I’ve felt like a failure. Our culture tells us that if we work hard enough, we will earn what we’re working for. I tried so hard with Mavis and feel like I failed, but Jimmy keeps reminding me that if she’s happy with her new family, then we have succeeded.

Things didn’t turn out that way I had dreamed of and worked towards, and I just need to accept that. I know Mavis is being taken care of, and she’s adjusting incredibly well. All the other dogs have accepted her, which is no easy feat since all but one of them are females, they are varying ages, and come from different situations. The only explanation is that God worked it all out.

I’m continually learning to keep a loose grip on the things in my life. Mavis was our fur baby for almost three years, and now she’s not. God gave us so many fun and rewarding moments with her since we brought her home, and I know He has a plan that is far better than anything I can try to dream up ❤