Feature / “Bloo” 2006 – July 25, 2010

It’s not easy owning a dog or being their guardian. I mean, when it comes down to it—the dogs own us.

But one of hardest realities of owning a dog is knowing we will almost always outlive them. They start out as puppies, but they are on a fast track to adulthood. But we’re lucky, because we get to watch them become senior dogs, spending their whole lives with us before they have to leave.

And as much as I would have loved to watch our dog “Bloo” get old and gray, it was not meant to be…

On Saturday, July 24th, Bloo had several grand mal seizures. We were aware they could happen but we hoped medication could prevent them. But the meds didn’t work. Seizures are increasingly more difficult to prevent the more a dog has them. They were so painful to witness, and very scary for Bloo. I know Bloo is home now, in heaven, where all his rover-friends await and I’m sure those angels are dancing with joy for the newest, most wonderful rover to join them. We will miss everything about him. He was quirky, with so much personality. Dave often says “this dog truly speaks to me.” He would actually look at me and Dave and do this little chatter, as if mimicking us. He made us laugh every day. He wore his feelings on his furry sleeves and he would let you know if he was upset. He longed for routine, wishing every day could be the same. Everyday, he would “wait” by the door and no matter how hard he tried to go out calmly, he leaped and bounded out the front door, his feet never touching the steps of the deck. I used to call it the “Bloo flew” as he seemed to fly off the deck. Often times, Bloo was so excited to go to Reading with Rover, he would jump into the wrong car and wouldn’t get out! We had to drag him out. And he would almost look embarrassed, as if to say, “Wow, that was dumb of me!” But he was far from dumb. He just couldn’t wait to spread joy!

Sadly, it was at 3:00am yesterday morning, that Bloo went on his final journey to heaven. But as I grieve for his loss, I am encouraged by a friend who just emailed me the following:

“When we have to witness our pets going through so much agony in their final minutes, just know that it’s only a tiny fraction of what they experience throughout their lives with us.”

This puts Bloo’s life in perspective, and it does make me feel better. Even in his last moment, Bloo aimed to please. He looked at me as if to say “It’s ok, Mom… I’m tired and I want to go.”

He loved us a lot. Especially Dave.

A little bit about Bloo, aka “Bloobie”, aka “Crazy Bee”.

Bloo came into our life in the most unusual way. Four years ago, I was looking for a puppy to train for service to a family who had a boy with autism and seizure disorder. Meanwhile, I had another client with two young children and two black lab puppies. As you can imagine, the strain of two puppies and two little boys proved too difficult. They realized they’d do much better with just one puppy, so they offered to give up one of them, knowing I could find a good home. Immediately, I was drawn to the calmer of the two puppies (Bloo) because of his disposition, but it was for that same reason the family preferred to keep him over his brother. Bloo was gentle, an old soul, and he was comfortable, with these amber eyes that just melted my heart. Unfortunately, the family wanted to give me his unruly, high strung yet lovable brother “Lucky” and I really couldn’t blame them. Knowing Bloo had strong potential as the service dog I had been seeking, I explained to the family what I thought he could do in his life, especially as a helper to this little boy.

The family had to make a decision.  My client let me know that his wife was pretty adamant about keeping Bloo.  While I was certain they would keep Bloo and give me Lucky, I couldn’t help saying a little prayer that they would make the sacrifice, and bring me Bloo.  Well, to my surprise, my prayer was answered and Bloo, my little miracle puppy, arrived the next morning. The owner looked at me and said, “My wife and I talked until two in the morning and we think if Bloo can be a service dog, who are we to stop him from achieving a higher calling?”

Amazing family. Amazing dog.

Bloo trained with us for nine months until he was ready to go for his first visit to his new home and to fulfill his duty as a service dog. It was just a weekend visit. Unfortunately, at the end of day two with his adopted family, Bloo had a seizure.

It’s my belief that the event was stress induced, as Bloo, while thoroughly trained, had never spent a night away from our home since he came to live with us. Immediately, we knew that having the seizure made Bloo incapable of being a service dog. When Bloo came back to us, I was determined to re-home him. However, Bloo was determined to stay…

We attempted to send Bloo with a friend for a day, but his stress level was so high, she returned him to us before nightfall. At that point, we were concerned another seizure would take place and we realized that Bloo had adopted us and we had no choice in the matter.

After becoming “our” dog, Bloo went three years without having a single seizure. He became a beloved Reading with Rover dog for Rose Hill Elementary School and he helped so many children. We genuinely believed that he was seizure free until a few months ago when they started happening without warning…

Bloo LOVED kids and I’m not ashamed to say he was the best bed buddy a couple could ask for! I can’t tell you how much we’ll miss that big furry divide that watched over me and Dave until we fell asleep and then, he would hop off the bed and sleep right next to me on the floor. But he was more so Dave’s dog than mine. He loved all of us but he and Dave had a deeply special bond that makes it a lot harder on Dave in this time of grief.

Personally, I’ll miss the way he liked to lift his leg on our “don’t pee here” sign on our front lawn. That was comical and I just couldn’t get upset with him. After all, he was a “listening” dog, and couldn’t read the sign. He was also a “lay at your feet for as long as you want” dog and a “get in the truck and go” dog. He was tenderhearted, a “kid had a bad day so I’ll cheer them up” dog. He was our family dog and he was a fantastic Reading with Rover dog. I do believe the work he did here was his higher calling and we are grateful for the few years we had with him. Not every dog can say “I made a difference,” especially when dogs are here so briefly. He certainly made a difference for us.

I once heard someone say you don’t always get the dog you want, you get the dog you need. And we needed Bloo in our family. He filled our hearts and we deeply loved him. We’re missing him so much already. The house is just too quiet, the silence filling each room.

I don’t have the heart to sweep the floors today because the clumps of black fur that rest in the corners are the only thing that make me feel like he’s still here…

Bloo was special and possessed a special part of all our hearts. He was truly Dave’s best friend. We laugh and say Bloo started out a service dog, but Dave ended up being a service-person to Bloo. Bloo loved and needed Dave in his life to be happy.

Hug your dogs today and every day and thanks to all of you who have been asking about Bloo. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated in this time of mourning.

And thank you, Bloo, for truly “raising the woof.”

We’ll see you in Heaven. Promise.