Year End Accounting pt. 2
This is evidently going to take a few different rants to get through it seems.
Boodah. Not only did he go on those adventures, Josh and I took him to Sacramento twice (2017 and 2018) during our roadtrips to the Aftershock Festival. He ended up spending both concert days, both times, hanging with Josh’s uncle.
We went all across the state on so many adventures, walks, runs, hikes. Anywhere I wanted to go, he faithfully followed. And when I say “faithfully followed,” I really, really, REALLY mean it. Boodah loved hanging out with everyone and only barked at two people the last 5 years he lived. No, seriously. Both times he got surprised.
When my friend Becca came to hang out but it was dark outside and Boodah just heard/saw someone walking up to me.
The first time Brianna came over. Boodah had already lost most of his hearing by that point. He woke up and suddenly an unknown person was in his room.
Man. I took Boodah to multiple concerts, movies, and anywhere I possibly could. He was so well behaved that when I took him to Santa Fe Brewery to see Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and Dem Atlas, that Boodah refused to pee on the tree inside the outdoor venue. Nah seriously. He waited until we got out the gate and peed on the fence post.
He went to Sage Francis. He saw Kimbra. He slept through The Last Jedi (and I wish I could say the same).
Fuck. I wish I could remember and recite every memory I have of him. He was amazing. And loving. And sweet. And such an ornery little fucker when he wanted!
So as much as he loved other people, he never once faltered on his loyalty. When we first got him, my parents wanted to get rid of him for nipping at my grandmas. We moved houses a few months later and I refused to even pack if he didn’t get to move with us.
And though we don’t understand why, he never did that again after we moved. He did have a habit of playing referee to end fights. He ended up becoming my dad’s dog after they had it out one day. Boodah had stolen some underwear and ran under the bed, so my dad lifted the top off. Boodah doubled down and said “Let’s go!” and went to bite my dad who was not a small guy at the least. He smacked the shit out of him.
After that they were the tightest of buds. When my dad died, Boodah tried to attack us to protect him when we tried to give CPR. He stayed with my mom after Alex and I moved out to our own place until I put my cats down at 14-15 years old each. Then I brought my boy home and he never left my side. Unless he was with Toff and Alex obviously. Those were the only two that Boodah ever loved as much. Toff was his young hot girlfriend and I miss that little girl endlessly.
I never used a leash with Boodah. I carried it more than anything unless we were somewhere with so many people he would get lost, or if we were somewhere I needed to keep him close for my anxiety, or his safety like crossing roads with traffic. But like walking on trails or at parks, as long as he could see me, it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t go a minute or two without looking over his shoulder to track me. If he saw me walking away, he would come running full sprint, long wiener body at full stride. Aaaand then he would zoom past me so he could have plenty of sniffing and peeing on the stuff ahead.
Oh god, I forgot how much he would pee. Like an insane amount. More than I could pee. I remember a buddy watching the dogs while I was on a trip, and he asked where Boodah stored all the pee. He would literally pee for the entire walk no matter how long. I mean, it would be like dribbles towards the end, but damn if he wasn’t giving it his best shot. Pun intended.
So much of my life changed after I put him down. He kept my schedule like clockwork. Every morning we got up at 5 for him to pee, fed him his half cup of kibble and scoop of pumpkin, and then immediately to poop. Every 2-3 hours he made me get up and walk him for pee break which meant I was far more active. He always provided the best excuse to leave events and parties, “Sorry, I gotta go take care of my dog and let him out. He’s 20 years old and I feel bad leaving him kenneled for more than a few hours at a time.”
But he was such a good boy that he mostly didn’t mind the kennel. Unless he knew someone was home. In which case he would absolutely scream bloody murder. Ask Josh. :D
The last few months I had him got harder and harder, and watching him became painful. He had lost most of his site except for shadows and bright lights. He lost most of his hearing from the Portugal. The Man concert in Santa Fe from my poor choice of staying in front of a speaker when I got forced to move. (story for another time) He still had his great sniffer and he relied on it. If it didn’t smell like me he didn’t care.
Because he was so loyal, he always searched for me. So if I left him with people to watch, he would constantly pace and look for me. And once he found me he didn’t care about anyone else. They could pet him, feed him, give him the best scritches, but he stayed loyal. I knew that he would never give up on me. Even as his body failed him more and more. He was never going to willingly leave my side. But I knew it was time. His tail didn’t wag the same. And anyone who knew Boodah knew that tail never stopped wagging. His balance was so bad that I had to help him walk with the leash and harness to hold him up. He would trip over his paws and faceplant in the grass, or the concrete. He would run into the walls and bang his eyes. He caused a cyst to rupture and me to freak out as he had blood running down his eyebrow. He slept almost all the time. He stopped eating the same amount as he had for years since I measured his food each time.
I couldn’t watch him wither away any further. I knew he wouldn’t give up. It wasn’t his nature. I feel in my heart that the day we went to the vet was the day. I spent the entire week with him since I was on PTO. Unplanned to line up that way, but it did. He was tired and it was time for me to let him rest.
If you’d like to see how amazing he was, feel free to look up the news story about him being one of the oldest dogs to ever live.
