Bodie, friend and guardian, crossed over recently.
Bodie the bodyguard.
Adios, Bodie
Bodie, crossed the rainbow bridge last week. He left at the age of 17. Bodie was my daughter-in-law Tegan’s doggo since college. When she moved in, Bodie naturally joined the new family. Her parents loved him as well, but agreed that she was better suited to caring for an older dog. Even though Bodie’s mobility was getting more and more limited, the addition of our grandson to the household gave him new purpose. He was the guardian.
Bodie and the Halloween dogs!
While my boy loved our cats, he began in a dog home. We had Pippin, my cairn terrier familiar when he was born. Brandy the cat (same age as Pippin) performed guardian duty for Justin as well. Brandy lived to ten, Pippin, 16, We decided not to get another dog, but we did adopt Amber, another orange tabby. The boy bonded with Amber, but then grew apart, as he went away to uni and joined the Navy. He loves animals and handles pets well. He and Bodie got along famously from the start.
During Tegan’s pregnancy, Justin took up the dog care duties, most notably walks. For an older dog, that meant multiple trips daily. When Caleb came home, Bodie’s walks included the baby, as a rule. Since the boy works remote most of the week, he had a shadow, office to kitchen to den. In particular, the two of them watched TV together, Bodie claimed a comfy den chair when he wasn’t on the sofa with mom and dad.
Long and short friendships
In he last month or so, the poor guy’s health declined sharply, Like many of us, Bodie appeared ready to let go. On the fateful day, he sat with my boy while he did a conference call. When he went down to get coffee and check the TV, Bodie curled up next to him, went to sleep. The boy moved him to the comfy chair and mom, dad, and baby sat with him until he was gone. Naturally, mom was devastated.
I met Bodie when we went up last year for the wedding. We renewed our friendship when in September when we visited the baby. Like so many dogs, he knew who is and isn’t a dog person. He took to me right off, sitting with me on the sofa like he did normally. I hesitate to call him a “grand-dog,” though. He was definitely a friend I wish I had had more time with.
