In my opinion, my boys have been fortunate. They have grown up in the country, with a creek to catch crawfish in, and a pond to fish in. And they always had a big dog, or two, by their side. When we moved to our current house, we had a black lab that quickly adapted from a fenced in city yard, to having acreage to play on. Then the neighbor had puppies. I went to see them, and brought one home, a Great Pyrenees that we named Buddy. At the time, I didn't know how big he'd get, I just knew he was a little fluffy white ball of fur that I fell in love with.
For almost thirteen years, Buddy fished with the boys, swam in the pool with them, and just kept his eyes on them. The past couple of years he has really slowed down. We were afraid that one day soon, we'd have to have him put to sleep. As if he was still looking out for us, he died on his own. We were by his side, and his tail wagged until the last minute. As hard as it was for a few days, I know he won't be suffering from skin allergies again this summer, and finally, I can smile for him.
