Remembering Beau

 He was a maniac, totally obsessed with doing one thing for days. When I first got him, I bought him one of those large, hard kettle balls. He ate it. I found nothing but plastic in his poop. It took him 1 week.

His breed are hard workers, known for coming home with broken teeth and wounds. The first time I let him off his leash, he took off but I found him 20 minutes later. He repeated the runaway dog show 3 more times. In Colorado, I had to walk 1 mile each way on painful knees to find him. He was trying to herd some cows on a road. I wished I could turn him loose but feared he wouldn't return. He did come back in 1 hour when he escaped at a state park in GA.

The Norwegian Buhund is relatively new in the US. I had him shipped to me in NC from NJ. United is the best. You can pick them up in baggage claim. Other airlines require you to find him at some cargo hold place. He was extremely nervous but brave when he arrived and for the first few days.

He was fearless. Other dogs at the park learned to respect him as he wouldn't let any dog fuck with him. He had a notch on the tip of his right ear from a scuffle. He never started a fight but was willing to engage. As he got older, he would often hang in the shade and watch the younger ones play. Only I ever saw him when he was calm.

Beau could walk backwards for long distances. I've never seen a dog do that. 

As he laid around in his last few months, I always knew he was listening as his ears were still deployed. After he passed, his ears were folded back. 

I gave him constant attention from March 5th until he finally passed on Apr 11th. I am still emotionally drained but Miles is putting a smile on my face and I will recover. 

At the end, I decided to have him euthanized but he died on me first. He could no longer stand and was blind. He was a trooper and still enjoyed being with us. The vet said he had a large mass in his stomach and a heart murmur. He was laying on the sofa with me and breathing hard. He stopped, calmly gasped a few times then passed, staring at me as I kissed him and told him I loved him.