Ode to Bo......

My college roommate, Susie, and her husband, Dwayne, live over near Madison. We met at Ripon in 1964 and have been besties ever since. And one of our connections is the fact that we four adults love our dogs. For years Susie's dog of choice (and therefore her husband's too) was the miniature Schnauzer. She usually had two at a time...and they were fun. But after their last Schnauzer died they did a major reversal and brought Bo home. Bo was a coal black standard poodle....he was big, friendly, smart and silly. All feet and bouncing whenever he entered a room.

We would visit our friends and Fenway and Bo would chase each other around the house and out in the yard. Lots of toy stealing and attempts to displace each other in someone's lap. Susie would always say that basically Bo ignored all his toys until Fenway wanted one.  Fenway's ears would perk up whenever we'd say "Want to go for a ride and see Bo?"

We expected them all to join us for this New Year's Eve....until yesterday's email. The message was from Susie telling us that they had to put Bo to sleep yesterday. Sudden and unexpected....an unknown large tumor on his spleen started to bleed. After testing they stood at the vet's office and made that all too hard decision and said goodbye to their beloved pet.

Grief comes in all sizes....huge when a loved one dies. A spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child....a friend. The loss hits hard and black. And the grief we experience when we say goodbye to a dog is real and a testament to just how much we loved our pet....and how much they loved us right back. That four footed never-a-question-about-it love. Feed them the same food every day for years, take the same walks, leave them alone at home while you work or go out with friends. That wiggly butt is waiting for you with the same amount of enthusiasm whether you've been gone for 15 minutes or a week. That kind of love is hard to replace....and we dog owners know we will, most likely, face this kind of loss every time we bring a puppy home.

The four of us used to laugh that it was really hard to get a good picture of Bo....he was just so black and his eyes were so dark. But I think this is a pretty good shot.

                            

Farewell Bo.....you will be missed....you will be remembered.....you were loved.