Enzo Branca

In October 2016 I saw a post on the Perry County Humane Society Facebook page of a dog then named Rocky who had arrived there in July with heart worms, underweight and with an old injury to his hip. I had long wanted a fur sibling for my dog Mario. I took Mario on a field trip to meet this boy and they got along. I was approved to adopt him but had to wait because he was receiving heartworm treatment. We made arrangements for me to pick him up on Monday, November 21st . Unfortunately, Mario had become sick and required surgery on the 21st so we would have to wait until he recovered. Little did I know that Mario would pass away unexpectedly on Friday. On December 11th I went to pick him up and named him Enzo Amore because he was such a love. I didn't know how I would be able to have another dog in the house since my heart was still broken. By the end of the first night, I knew that Mario had picked him out for me and that there was some sort of higher power/universal force or whatever you believe in that knew that I would need this specific boy because he was the only dog that could heal my broken heart. Enzo was the best and sweetest boy from the beginning. In April 2018 Enzo got a little brother, Giuseppe Luigi, and he was the most patient big brother EVER. Giuseppe constantly pestered him to play and although Enzo was an old man and didn't want to play those little boy games he never snapped or barked at him. He had health issues because of his age and the lack of care he had received previously. He had to undergo heartworm treatment again, have surgery to remove a mast cell tumor in June 2018, and receive regular acupuncture treatments to help with the arthritis from his untreated injuries. Unfortunately, in August 2019 I found a mass in the same place that his tumor was removed before. After consultation at the University of Illinois, which showed that the cancer has spread to his spleen and mouth, and trying therapy to no avail I brought him, made him comfortable, loved him, until the decision had to be made to help him cross the rainbow bridge on Sunday, November 11, 2019. There will always be a hole in my heart but he is no longer in pain or having to fight. He is playing with his brother Mario in heaven since they never got to here on earth.

Enzo Branca

November 12, 2019