Special edition…

It’s with great sadness and tears that I announce the passing of Babo the Dog on Wednesday, December 28. He had turned 12 in September. Our daughter Melody acquired Babo when she and her family were teaching in the Dominican Republic in 2016. His name was spelled “Vevo” then in a country where “V” comes out “B” and the Spanish long-E has an English long-A sound. When they moved to China in 2018 and taking the dog was too expensive, Melody prevailed upon us to take him so he would “stay in the family.” We didn’t really want him, but, as June has said, “It didn’t take long to have us wrapped around his little paw.” We changed the spelling to “Babo” to minimize confusion, and he’s been a loving and faithful companion for 4.5 years.

He was a sweet dog, and everyone in the neighborhood who encountered us on our frequent walks loved him. He loved the car and responded with great excitement to, “Do you want to go for a ride?” He got even more excited if I said, “Do you want to go to the Post Office?” He thought that was the greatest thing. He loved me, but June was his main squeeze. Maybe because she fed him more often than I did in the early days. When she was out, he often camped by a window that offered a view of the driveway. When she returned, he would run down the stairs to the door to the garage, and if I was there to open it, he would race into the garage and run around the car wagging his stubby little tail. By contrast, he was always glad to see me, but I didn’t usually get a tail wag!

We love to go to Estes Park, but the condo that we often rented didn’t allow pets, so we started renting cabins at the YMCA of the Rockies. He loved the walks there – all those new scents! Again, if June left the cabin, he spent most of his time looking out the window for her. The “healthy” pix were made in the cabin this summer.

He’s been gradually declining since at least this summer. Normally eating everything in sight, he began to be picky about what he would eat, and he ate nothing the last week. He spent most of his last two weeks lying on the couch where I could sit with him watching football (or soccer!) and working on the computer. He used to be “a bit heavy” at 18 – 19 pounds. 8 days before his death, the vet weighed him at 15.2 pounds. Wednesday morning at the vet, he weighed 13.2 pounds, a 2-pound loss in just over a week.

Melody and family were due to arrive for a post-Christmas visit Wednesday afternoon. We prayed that he would hang on until they arrived to say goodbye. He did. The picture shows June with Melody talking with Babo while daughters Liana (back to the camera) and Shirah look on. I’ll have to say that with all that attention, he only has eyes for me. We took him to the vet shortly after. Son-in-law Cody was kind enough to go with me. I cry as I write. As our oldest son, Mark, said, “Rest in peace, Babo.”

Thanks for reading.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you… (Job 12.7, NIV)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46.1, ESV)