“The Truth About Beau”
I’m not proud to admit it, but we were this close to giving up our dog.
My wife Rose and I had just brought home our newborn daughter, Zoey. After years of IVF treatments, heartbreak, and waiting — she was finally here. Tiny, perfect, and fragile. Our little house in Austin finally felt full.
But there was one thing casting a shadow over our happiness:
Beau.
Our golden retriever.
Our first baby, in a way.
He used to be playful, friendly, and downright gentle. But since Zoey came home, something in him had… shifted. He followed Rose around like a shadow, eyes wide and anxious. When Zoey was in the crib, Beau would sit beneath it for hours, unmoving. Watching. Guarding.
At first, we thought it was sweet. Protective instincts kicking in, right?
Then we hired Claire, a well-reviewed nanny to help out a few afternoons a week so we could catch up on sleep, laundry, and maybe some sanity. But the first time she picked Zoey up, Beau growled. Claire froze. We brushed it off.
But then it happened again. And again.
He barked. He bared his teeth. He wouldn’t let Claire anywhere near Zoey without becoming aggressive. Claire started sending worried texts every visit. “I’m scared he’ll bite,” she once wrote.
Rose and I were exhausted. The idea of rehoming Beau was heartbreaking — we adopted him together just after our honeymoon. But now we were new parents, and fear creeped in: What if he snapped?
Then came last Friday night.
Rose and I decided to sneak out for our first real dinner alone since Zoey was born. Claire was babysitting. We’d only been out for 45 minutes when my phone buzzed.
Claire.
Panicked voice:
“BEAU TRIED TO ATTACK ME! HE WENT CRAZY WHEN I PICKED UP ZOEY!”
We raced home. Claire was in the living room, pale, shaking, clutching Zoey tightly.
Beau was nowhere in sight.
I went to the hallway, heart pounding, and opened the closet where our home security monitor sat. We had cameras in every main room, just in case.
I pulled up the living room footage from the past hour.