The Old Bo Dog

I'm sorry to say that the Glodo family experienced a great loss while Owen and I were home visiting last month. On October 19th, my parents had to make the difficult decision to put our wonderful dog, Bo, to sleep. Bo was 14 years old and his health was really starting deteriorate this past year. He had bad hips, a tumor on one of his eyes that bled a lot, and a problem with his ears. He had a hard time getting around and had also lost his hearing. On the day that it happened, he was laying down on the living room floor and stayed there for 3 hours--not even getting up to relieve himself. Mom called the vet at about 8pm that night and he said he would meet them at his office. Dad had to carry Bo to the car. I, unfortunately, was out shopping with my cousin and was not able to be there but I was at least glad that I was in town. I think having Owen and Maddy there really helped my parents grieve a little easier and I was glad that I got to see Bo one last time.

Bo was really the 5th member of our family. My brother brought him home when he was just a pup when I was 15 years old. He said he was going to be a hunting dog. I think Bo went hunting maybe one time, and spent the rest of his time laying on the couch watching TV with my dad. Dad very quickly became Bo's favorite person in the family. Wherever he was, you'd find Bo right next to him. He was the quirkiest dog I've ever met and we all swear he understood every word we said. He was also the calmest dog I've ever met. Right up until the end, Owen would climb all over him and he never minded one bit. When we were on vacation this past summer, Owen started saying, "Bo!" Now, every dog he sees is, "Bo!"--even our own dog! It is the cutest thing and I rarely correct him because it makes me feel like a part of Bo is still with us that way.

I was going through some photos this week and came across some of Bo, which is why I decided to do this post in the first place. So here are some pictures of our dear old friend whom we greatly miss. Christmas won't be the same this year without seeing him dig his nose into a gift bag full of bones and tennis balls.

Here he is on GiGi's couch at Christmas. It is only because she loved Bo so much that GiGi would allow him to sit on her couch!

This is one of my favorite pictures of us. It's a little hazy because Cody was dry walling and sanding and got it all over the picture. But I still had to put it on here! Bo always loved to lay on a pillow.

Here are the two best buddies doing what they did best--relaxing on the couch.

Auntie Gaye emailed me this poem that Beth wrote about Bo when she was in high school. I think it pretty much sums up exactly what kind of dog he was and how much our entire family loved him.

“BO”

There is a dog that I know,
He is a black lab whose name is Bo.
He likes to play catch, sleep and eat,
Bo is a dog you would love to meet.
He loves to take walks, run and play,
A ride in the car makes his day.
He is as precious as a baby in our eyes,
When he is left alone, he mopes and cries.

His owners treat him like a child of their own,
He chews on a tennis ball instead of a bone.
When they go for a ride, he sits in the front,
He's very spoiled, he gets whatever he wants.

If you are a stranger who walks through the door,
He barks real loud, and runs across the floor.
If you are a face he is familiar with,
He doesn't move at all, not even a twitch.

He is a bodyguard, when his family is gone,
He sits at the window from dusk until dawn.
You can tell he cares by the look in his eye,
Bo is a great dog, and now you know why.