That's what the vet tech at the pound told us when we picked up our new 60 pound, 9 month old "puppy". And I thought, "Aww, that's so sweet." What I didn't realize at the time, is that's what most everyone in our lives would think whenever they got to spend time with Bo.
We weren't actually looking for a dog when we were at the pound. We were looking, in vain, for our cat, Stimpy, who ran away from home. I didn't really think we'd find him there - that cat was way too smart to end up in the pound - but I figured we should at least try. When, as expected, we didn't find Stimpy, my husband's face turned in to that of a six year old as he asked, "Can we go look at the puppies?" Always one to indulge my husband's playful side, I said, "Sure!" and we wondered over to the dog kennels. Now, I was six months pregnant with our first child at the time and while I like big dogs, I wasn't too keen on getting a bigger dog knowing we were going to be introducing a little baby in to the picture very soon. There was a cute little brown medium sized dog with sweet little eyes I thought would be a good fit for us. That's when Chet spotted him. The BIG pointer mix in the back row with his big ol' paws halfway up the cage, focusing all his attention on us and looking at us with those BIG black ears pointed forward as only a hound dog can do. He looked like a dalmatian with his white coat and black spots, but the tag said "pointer-mix" which to me meant "cute-like-a-dalmatian-but-without-all-the-crazy." Still being unsure, I suggested we look a little bit more, but when it came time to "meet" one of the dogs, Chet talked me in to the One with the Big Black Ears.
We sat in the little room and waited. When they brought him in, he did his perimeter check (a trait he always exhibited from here on out) and at the end of it, sat down right next to my leg, put that long snout in my lap and gave me what can only be described as puppy dog eyes. As he leaned against me and let me rub his ears, I knew this was the dog for our growing little family. That somehow it would all work out and, of course, it did.
So, we loaded up our new charge (still not sure how we loaded the giant dog in the back of the king cab on our truck) and headed home. That dog was smiling from ear to ear as we rolled down the windows with his big sloppy tongue hanging out and fur flying everywhere!! That's when my husband looked at me in all seriousness and said something I will never forget. "He won't always shed like this. He's just nervous." Well, apparently, that dog was nervous the rest of his life, but I'm not sure he ever stopped shedding!
It was on that ride home that we knew we had to give this dog a name - a good name. Why I don't know, but I wanted to give him a long name with a fun nickname. Chet was alright with that and somehow, we settled on Beauregard. Beauregard Panique. Beau, for short. Bo, for even shorter. Beau morphed in to Bo over the years because just like trying to explain that this white dog with black spots was in fact a pointer and not a dalmatian, it was just easier to let everyone spell it B-O. A lot less explaination all around, making a life a tad bit easier. 
The thing about a pound dog, especially one that has been there for two months, is that there is a gratefulness to them. They know where you've brought them home to is so much better than where they were. And I could see it in Bo's eyes every day. When we brought him home, he was so eager to please and just so happy to be with us every day! He wasn't a perfect puppy by any means. He chewed the carpet all the way down to the stairs one night, resulting in getting a whole house full of new carpeting 3 weeks before the baby arrived. He got in trouble over and over for digging in our postage stamp of a backyard. But then he snuggle right up to you with those eyes and beg for you to love him.
He was, in a word, irresistable.
Bo became my constant companion.
**This is the beginning of a series of posts of stories I don't want to forget about Bo, who went to chase rabbits in heaven this last week, after 13 years as my dutiful dog. Thank you for indulging me.
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