i hope he knows he'll always be a good boy

this is piri. originally he was my brother's dog and spent his days napping and  chasing squirrels in georgia.

then in 2006, he came to live with me and yangkyu in new york. it was one of the toughest times for the little guy and me. piri had a severe case of separation anxiety and couldn't adjust to his new surroundings. he would constantly bark when he was left alone in the apartment. it took a lot of love, patience and trying from both our ends for him to finally get over his anxiety. but it came back in 2010, when we packed up our things and moved to maryland. yangkyu had to stay behind in new york for two months to close out some projects and that must've been a little too hard for piri to handle. i have to admit, there were days when i got really frustrated. i couldn't handle coming home from work to find out that piri had spent almost the entire day barking. but piri never got mad or frustrated at me. for that i'm always thankful... and i still sometimes feel bad for getting frustrated at him. but the wonderful thing about dogs is that they forgive easily and love unconditionally. and as soon as yangkyu joined us permanently in maryland, piri's separation anxiety went away. this time for good.

we're all now in virginia and things are great. almost too perfect.

piri will turn 14 next march. he lost his hearing about a year ago. and although he's still playful and is involved in all kinds of shenanigans, he tires more quickly now. he sometimes gets a little nervous when he doesn't see me around the apartment. he can't tell by the noise i'm making in the kitchen or by the sound of the shower that i'm still there. it saddens both me and yangkyu that piri can't hear us say "i love you" or "good boy". 

we love this little guy so much. and he's such a good boy. i hope he knows it without having to hear it.  

more pictures of piri at a day with piri.