Just Duke - Mostly Tech Ponderings

As all dogs do, Bo grew like a weed. He went from being an awkward pup into a graceful, muscular dog, full of fire and vinegar in a hurry. There was the time that my wife didn't want to put him outside in the rain, so she locked him in the garage. I came home, opened the back door and found him there waiting on me. . . A trip to the garage revealed lots of splinters. The door to the garage now had a huge hole in it! I was mad, but not for long! After all, this little guy only wanted to be with us!

In fact, that is the one thing that I want you to know about Bo! I don't care what it is I am doing. He only wishes for me to include him. Once I was in the floor working on the wife's vacuum. The next thing I knew, there was the weight of his big head laying on my sholder. As if he was inspecting the work I was doing with that screwdriver . . . .

Bo loved the "Red Bug". The red bug was our families name for a laser pointer. This "Bug" would entertain Bo for hours. He would try and try to catch it, and never in his entire life did he grow tired of this game. He would be panting and exhausted from chasing this entity that could never be caught, but he didn't care. It was fun for him, and brought joy to us.  He was conditioned to look for it, simply by hearing the words, "Red Bug".  Once, while sending a Video email to a friend, Bo came to see what was going on. Watch his face when he hears those magical words. 

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And some footage of Bo trying his best to catch the evil bug . . .

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Bo was exactly what I wanted in a dog. He listened to me, was easy to train and loved to please me. The truth is I have owned a lot of Boxers. But this is the one that seems to have the best traits of the breed. Loyal, always a pup, always happy, and always a part of our family. This is the dog that helped us raise our family. He played with our children and their friends. He always had an excellent temperment around people and other animals. 

As I write this, Bo is laying at my feet. He is frail. His once jet black mug is now more white than black. He isn't eating well, is super skinny and the Vet told us today, it doesn't look good. I am going to have to make a decision soon. I really believe it would be easier to make if Bo were in some sort of pain, but he isn't. He still seems happy and never fusses or complains. But he is a shell of the dog he used to be. For the last 10 + years, he has been the one at the gate or the door so happy to see me. My friend! My pal.  I've been through this before. You have too. It's never fun when they get to this point is it?

I once heard a saying that went something like "Dogs are God's way of showing us what unconditional love is." 

Bo fits that description perfectly. 

UPDATE: 8/16/11 

We had started noticing that Bo was having some problems lifting his hind legs when he walked. On June, 7th my wife took him to the vet. The Vet told us it didn't look good and he thought we might have three good weeks. I sat down and gathered my thoughts and wrote the article above. I got so many warm responses from you!  Some of you offered such good, solid advice. The ones of you who told me I would know when it was time, were dead on! The good news here is that Bo didn't suffer . . He really didn't have any pain! He still had quite an appetite. He was just losing his ability to move. 

Yesterday I prepared a place to lay him down. Today I placed him in the truck, and drove him to the vet. They came out to the truck, and I looked him right in his old, tired eyes and told him, that he was loyal, he was good, and he was my pal. I kissed him on top of his head, and then he was gone.

As bad as it hurts! I do take comfort in the fact, that I was there when he took his last breath. Bo loved everyone he met. But he especially loved me. I loved him back . . . . . . . .