We had to put our golden retriever, Hank Bosworth, to sleep on Monday. I've been dreading this day for a while, knowing that his time with us was getting short. Our Hank Dog has been the epitome of “Man’s Best Friend” for the last 15 years. He really was a one of kind, unforgettable dog. Movies like Homeward Bound and Marley & Me were written with a dog like Hank in mind. He would follow me down to the mailbox to fetch the mail/newspapers and bring them back in his mouth so he could drop them into our hands back inside the house. He insisted on helping us carry groceries inside from the car and would grab bags out of your hand if you refused. He was my shadow, always getting up to be right next to me even if I was just walking across the room. Fantastic with the children as they tugged, pulled, and climbed on him as infants/toddlers. He patrolled the area around our house each night, walking a predictable path a few houses down on each side of our property. He would crawl into my closet to pout when I would get the travel luggage out each month for work trips. Loved the snow, loved swimming, playing fetch, and rough-housing with me. Content to be outside for hours or lay in the shop as long as he was around family. Protective of the wife/kids and watchful of strangers walking by the house, but never aggressive.
He had lost most of his vision over the past year and has been deaf for a couple of years as well. Finally this past week, he had become increasingly lethargic and was having trouble getting his back legs to support him. He laid in one spot for almost an entire day. The weekend wasn't much of an improvement, so we got ourselves prepared for the final trip to the vet Monday afternoon. He gave us everything he had to give, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. I'm not a particularly emotional guy, but I sobbed like a baby as he took his last breath. I'm going to miss him a ton.
