December 22, 2012 by Gildas Paradis

We lost another one of our pack, Bosco. (He is the tall one in the middle of the picture) He was the muscle around the yard keeping the bears and other unwelcome critters away. We got him from the UpTown Pet Clinic as a rescue dog. The first time we met he barked at me and gave me some attitude just to test me out. He was not aggresive but he was intimidating, especially his Bark! He was about 8 yrs old and had developed a heart condition that was slowly wearing him out. We had known he was ill for a about a month now, and had been giving him special care and attention even though his prognosis was bad. Short of a transplant there was nothing could be done. He slowly got worse and this Friday Dec 21, it was time. It was very hard even knowing it was inevitable. He will be missed dearly.

Our family, even the young ones, handled it well. There are still tears but they understand it couldn't be helped and it was best for him. We had forementioned he was very sick awhile ago so they would be prepared, but it was still a shocking reality upon the news. Smart brave kids each one.

Like all of our dogs this fella had many talents and skills. One was hunting and retrieving beavers. He would put the sneak on them with me and then jump in the water and go retrieve them. He would get so excited he would whine and tremble when i said the word "Beaver". He also was pretty good at waterfowl too, but he was somewhat stubborn and had his moments. He was a mixed breed so it all played out to his feeling ducky or not. This dog had common sense too, understanding things that can't be taught to a dog, he just knew it.

It was hard for me to put him down, but it was the right thing to do. Anymore and it would have been pure selfishness on my part to keep him around. Sad to see him wither away, and sad to not have him here with us.

That's alot of dogs i have had in my lifetime, and it never get any easier when it's time. They become pretty close after awhile.

Good bye Bosco, thanks for all your charm, help, protection and companionship.

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