The end of a long friendship.

I will never forget the day that I walked into the Humane Society in Juneau Alaska. Mom had mentioned that we needed a smaller dog but once I saw the big brown eyes of an English lab looking at me I knew he was the dog for us. My dad and I went to pick him up a few days later and came home with a great companion named Bosch. He was three years old and eighty six pounds when we got him, the vet said his ideal weight should be 100 so we soon had him up to his big ol boy size! He was a handful from the day we brought him home. He refused to stay outside and would bark until we eventually broke down and let him inside to share his life with us. Bosch could do pretty much anything in his younger days, he would hike the trails around mendenhall glacier with us and go swimming at Auke Bay and other beaches in Juneau. The most exciting talent Bosch had was chasing away bears. Yes, he was a great bear dog. He would go crazy if he even smelled a bear outside and once he even chased one out of our back yard by charging it head on until it jumped into the woods! Gosh, we just had some fantastic times with this dog. Eventually it became time for us to move away from Alaska and Bosch went with us on a fourteen day road trip across America. He ran and swam in the Yukon territory, Alberta, and British Columbia. He got into a bed of cactus in Montana, and camped at Mount Rushmore. Finally, we ended up in North Carolina where he had many good times and even visited the beaches of the Outer Banks! Then, about two years ago a lump appeared on Bosch’s leg. The vet said it was cancer and could not be removed due to its placement. With a limited budget and a dog of 13, there was not much we could do other than give him a good home for the rest of his days.  The last year of his life me and my brother were not able to be home much other than the holidays, but we did both get to see him a month before he went. He had become so sad and could not run and do his old tricks anymore. (he used to be able to roll over, play dead, speak, shake, back up, leave it, stay, wait, and would “find mommy” or “find rissa, trav and daddy” if asked to) So When he went it was a very sad day, but after spending ten years with the best companion and travel buddy we all knew it was his time to go.  We will always remember the dog who knew everything you said to him, who could put a smile on your face no matter what, and who would always bark and be protective until the door was open and he could lick you do death. Bosch Marmaduke Clark, even though he hated pictures left us with a few to remember him by…So here they are; a little tribute to Bosch: