Boscoe anniversary

Twelve years ago today, Boscoe joined our home. we got him from a woman who lived on a farm near pine city, minnesota. she had rescued him and his 57 (or so) brothers and sisters from a neighboring farm. the neighboring farmer didn't believe in neutering his dogs; he had planned to drown the litter of puppies. instead, he let the woman take them. she brought all the puppies in for checkups and their first round of shots, and housed them in her barn and fed them until she could find them good homes.

we are eternally grateful to her.

when we got him, Boscoe was small enough that he could crawl under our white picket fence--and he sometimes did. he never tried to escape, though; just toddled around the side yard to the front of the house and waited there for us to find him. he'd sit on the front steps, by the pot of red impatiens, and watch the world go by.

and here he is today. still sweet, a bit bigger, just as happy to stick close to home. he loves the morning walk, but he can do without the afternoon walk; he's all business then, and after a block or two he puts the brakes on. time for dinner, he says.



when he first moved in, he made himself welcome by loving all of us from the moment he joined our household. he endeared himself to a rather standoffish toby by cuddling up next to him relentlessly. toby wasn't quite sure how to take this. he was six, and he was used to being not just top dog, but solo dog. boscoe would curl up next to him, and toby would get up and stalk off. boscoe would simply get up and trot behind him cheerfully, and as soon as toby lay down, boscoe curled up next to him again.

i'm not sure if he won toby over, or wore him down.


twelve years. my goodness. my goodness. toby is gone now, and riley -- the puppy we got for boscoe -- is almost six. how lucky we've been. how lucky we are.