A one in a million dog

John, a coworker of mine, brought his dog Harley to school. He'd been a stray that John and his wife took in. Harley turned out to be a great dog. He was so well behaved, great with the kids, but to me most importantly Harley had kind eyes and reminded me of my first dog, Bo. (Short for Little Bo Peep, I know very lame but what do you expect from a three year old?)

My Mom and Dad took in Bo's mom, a collie that they soon found out was going to have puppies. They kept Lady long enough to produce eight very collie like pups and one Heinz 57 (Bo). Bo never had formal training but was the best protector ever.  At the time we lived on the Puget Sound and instead of a sidewalk we had a wooden boardwalk. The boardwalk was probably two blocks long, about three feet above the beach and made of wood. I learned to ride my tricycle on this boardwalk and every time I'd climb on the tricycle Bo would be right there ALWAYS on the side that had the three foot drop to the beach - to keep me from falling off.

The house stood in between a fuel depot for the navy ships and the small town of Manchester. Sailors would be given time off and walk down the beach to town. I was often out in front of the house playing on the beach and the sailors would stop to talk to me. Bo would wedge his way between the sailor and me, quietly ready to protect.

Me, Marnie, Steve and Chris - on the beach

When we'd be out playing Bo was close by, ever vigilant. After we moved to West Seattle he continued to be the protector.

Mom would let him out for a run early in the morning and again late at night. I remember Bo being picked up by the dog catcher several times. The first time the fine was $7 and after that it doubled each time. Pretty soon the dog catcher would pick up Bo and just deliver him to the front door because he knew, "He was a good dog and very loved." Mom would give him a cup of coffee for his troubles.

Bo, Allen, Kenny, Steve and Mike

Kenny, me, Allen, Bo, Kathleen, Bridget, Steve and Mike

Mom could stand at the front door, look up and down the street and know where we were just by whose front porch Bo was laying on. (Mom had an old school bell that she rang and when we heard it we were to "get home fast". Neighbors would laugh and although they understood that we had to "get home" they would often have to ask us to stay just long enough to pick up the toys.)

An unusual snowy day - Mike, Steve, Bridget, me and Kathleen O'Boyle

He was such a kind dog that when other animals made their way into the family he was very accepting. We used to have a photo of Bo sleeping on his back with a cat sleeping on his chest but it has disappeared.

For Bo, there was a hierarchy within the family. I was #1, then the boys, finally my mom and dad. My Dad would sometimes shake me by the shoulders encouraging me to make noise just to get Bo going. He would whine and jump begging him to leave me alone.

The last spanking I ever had was one to remember. I was way to old to be getting a spanking but my mouth had gotten me into some big trouble. Mom was trying to deal out the punishment and I was not going to have any of it. One thing led to another and I was on the floor, Mom on her hands and knees trying to flip me over for a swat or two. Out of the blue Bo came up from behind and bit her on the bum! We laughed so hard that the spanking was forgotten! What a good old dog......