I will never forget the first time I met Bo, short for Bojangles. It was April of 1993. I had just driven a 24 foot long Ryder moving van into the driveway of our new home. I looked across the pond to see my new neighbor sighting in the property line with a deer rifle to establish a new fence line. Standing next to my neighbor was Bo. She ran to greet me as I walked across the dam to introduce myself to my new neighbor. Her tail was wagging, her pitch black coat glistened with water from the swim she had just taken, and her lips were pulled back in what can only be described as a toothy grin. I thought to myself, what a beautiful dog. As she approached, I stooped to put myself at eye level with her, and scratched her head as she welcomed me to the neighborhood. From that very instant, Bo and I developed a rapport that would only grow stronger with time. Bo and I became fast friends as she pressed he entire weight, wet coat and all, against me as I petted her for the very first time. By May first I had acquired one of Bo’s most recent litter of puppies. Lacy became a member of our family on my 41 birthday. Bo continued to make frequent trips to our home to visit Lacy, and to continue to utilize our pond for her swimming pleasure. Over the next several years Bo came by the house to visit at least once a week, and we developed a strong friendship. Several years later my neighbor and his wife took a six week vacation over seas. It was during that vacation that Bo decided to move in with us on a permanent basis. Bo showed up at our house on the Friday before Labor Day weekend in 1995. When our neighbors returned from their trip, after several tries to take her home, they offered to let us keep her as our own. Needless to say, she fit right in at our house. When Bo first became a part of our family we had three other dogs. Maggie our oldest cocker spaniel, Brittany, our Grand Cocker inherited from our daughter, and Lacy, Bo’s daughter from her first litter. The original idea was to have Bo be an “outside dog” to serve as a protector of our home. That idea did not last long, and shortly there after she became a full fledged, inside abiding member of our family. It wasn’t long before our love for her grew to the point that we could not imagine life without her. She became instilled in every facet of our lives. Over the course of the next seven years Bo lived a full and active life. She loved to swim in the pond, and created a game with the migratory ducks that came through every year. She would spend hours swimming from one end of the pond to the other in pursuit of the green headed mallards that made our pond their home in the spring. She was tireless in her pursuit. In 2001, just after Thanksgiving, Bo developed a hacking cough. A trip to the vet was necessary. The vet prescribed anti-biotics, and cough medicine. Bo did not mind the anti-biotic medicine, but she was not too crazy about the cough syrup. After two weeks of medications she still showed no improvement, so I carried her back to the vet clinic for further treatment. During that visit an x-ray was taken, and the picture showed a mass of some type in her throat, and an enlarged heart. The decision was made to run a few test and see what this was all about. The test indicated Lympho-Sarcoma, or cancer of the Lymph nodes. A needle biopsy was performed, and the test results were sent to Texas A&M for diagnoses. The information came back that it was not Lympho-Sarcoma, but it was Thyroid cancer, and the tumor was wrapped around her esophagus. The prognosis was that eventually the tumor would choke off her ability to breathe. We spent days upset and fretful over this news, and we investigated every avenue of treatment to try and cure her of this tumor. Bo was healthy in every other since of the word. She remained active, she ate well, she enjoyed our daily walks, and she loved her favorite game of catch the stick and keep it from Mom and Dad. Her cough continued to get gradually worse. We elevated her food bowl to make it easier for her to digest her food. We poured out as much love to her as we could manage. By March she was beginning to get terribly winded with any type of exertion. She came back from short walks panting and in some instances gasping for breath. Through all of this she still appeared to be the picture of health. As March turned to April it was obvious that Bo was not improving, and that inevitably the tumor was going to take her away from us. We continued to try and keep her active, happy and well fed. On Sunday, April 14th she did not eat, and she refused to go for our walk. We had a hard decision to make, and we cried together as we considered what was really best for our beloved Bo. On Monday when I awoke, Bo and I walked together to the kitchen and I gave her a morning treat. A few minutes later she coughed, and vomited up a deep red puddle of blood. I knew what had to be done, but I hated making the decision. We took her to the vet at noon, and we questioned the vet if anything else could be done. It was decided that the most humane thing we could do for her was to end her pain. At 12:30 on April 15, 2002 the vet made the injection that would put her peacefully to sleep. My wife and I held her as she took her last breath. I buried my nose in her course black coat. I will never forget her scent. I laid her down, and she was gone. We will never, ever forget this wonderful dog. She meant so much to us, and she provided us with unconditional love. It’s hard not to feel guilt when you have to decide to put a pet to sleep, but I know in my heart that it was the right decision. It allowed Bo to die as she had lived, with dignity, and unparalleled quantities of love and respect for life. Good bye our faithful friend and companion. We love you.