R.I.P. My furry friend

I’ve been brokenhearted, blue since the day we parted.
-ABBA-
On Sunday, our faithful companion Bo finally succumbed to the ravages of old age after 13 and a half years, 12 and a half spent with Melanie and me and most recently our son Connor.
I had always been a cat person, but after Bo excitedly dragged me around the basketball court on Leighton Barracks in Wuerzburg, Germany in December 2003, I was officially a dog person.
Up until 2014, when people would ask us if we had any children, our response would be roughly, “We have a 75-pound lab.” He was the king of our castle. I let him up on the bed the first day we got him and that would be his nightly place until he couldn’t make the climb up our stairs anymore.
We got him in Germany and I think that’s probably the best time we all had together. Not counting the summer we had his hip replaced, of course.
He loved fields and on the weekends we would go for walks that lasted for hours. We would go by farms, through the woods and out in fields. He loved it all. Walks in town weren’t bad either for him as he would find all manner of scraps. Sometimes on morning walks we would stop by a bakery along the route and get him fresh-baked pretzels. He was also a frequent dinner companion. There was a favorite outdoor café Melanie and I frequented about a mile from our house and he would lay down at our feet hoping for the occasional stray morsel. And being Europe, he joined us at many an indoor meal as well.
He was a world traveler. He was born in England before going to Germany. He moved with us to Okinawa, Japan in 2007 and then to Georgia in 2010. Somehow he endured those long plane flights. I think one of the hardest trips was the one to Okinawa. Coming from Virginia, we landed in Japan we picked him up in the airport in Japan. You could see the disappointment on his face as we then had to place him back on the carousel for the final two hours to Okinawa.

He loved people and that never changed. Meeting another dog on a leash he would be more interested in the owner. Toward the end, he would stay as close to us as he could, barking if he felt we got too far away from him in the backyard.
He went peacefully in his sleep and I hope with some final memories of long walks, chasing rabbits or eating some good people food.
While all we have of Bo are memories now, they are ones we will cherish forever.