Bo's Page

Breed: Labrador Retriever
Color: Yellow (Fox Red)
Sex: Male (neutered)
Born: 07/30/1994 - 11/03/2004
Weight: 94 lbs.

Bo was born to Bucket (my neighbor and friend Tom Dillon's Black Lab) on Saturday, July 30, 1994 with 11 other siblings.  Since Bucket could make enough milk for them all they had to be hand fed.  Tom mated Bucket with a Chocolate Lab hoping to get a Chocolate out of the deal but it never happened.  I can't remember the actual mix but I do know that 2 fox red labs were a part of the litter (Corn Flake and Bo).  What a surprise.  I never knew that there was such a thing as a Fox Red Labrador Retriever and here I watched 2 born to a Black Lab.  What a pretty color.  He looked like a Golden Retriever but with shorter hair.  I already had 2 dogs and really didn't want another but after watching him come into this world and hand feeding him I couldn't turn down Tom's offer of a free puppy.  Everyone knew I'd pick one of the fox reds it was just a matter of which one.  I decided on Bo because he was the biggest of the two and second biggest of the litter behind Moose. 

What a big baby Bo has turned out to be.  He has always been big.  At one time he weighed 127 lbs and is now a slim 113 lbs.  Once he recovers from his surgery I expect his weight to go down even more since he will be more active.  Bo is very leery of strangers and has a very vicious bark.  Bo never does anything he doesn't want to do, he is very strong and powerful, just ask Tom who tried to take him for a ride with AJ (Bo's sibling).  Bo always wanted to play, especially with the tennis ball.  I was in awe how he could run so fast and cut turns so sharply for a big dog.  Then he hurt himself.  What a yelp.  I carried him into the house where eventually began walking again...thank god.  Turns out he probably torn his ACL.  It never seemed to bother him until years later.

About a year ago I noticed Bo was limping and occasionally holding his right rear leg up so I took him to the vet.  After an exam and a few x-rays the vet said he had arthritis in his right knee, grade 1 medial luxating patella (knee cap), and slight hip dysplasia in his left hip.  We began him on Etogesic (an anti-inflammatory pain killer) and Adequin injections.  Bo did not handle Etogesic very well so we switched him to Rimadyl which he handles very well...that is, as long as it's wrapped in cheese when I give it to him.  Thing is, Rimadyl is $1.25 per 100mg pill and at 2 per day that's $75 a month.  So when I found out the arthritis was due to a partially torn ACL in his knee I stopped the Adequin injections, since they wouldn't help, but continued the Rimadyl and began considering a surgical solution.  I figured the pay back would be about 1.5 years (with actual costs it was more like 22 months) but the thought of Bo having a pain-free life was all I needed to explore a surgical solution.  After consulting with the local orthopedic surgeons at Tennessee Avenue Animal Hospital (Dr. Payne) and the OSU Veterinary Hospital (Dr. Johnson) the consensus was that a Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) would be the best long-term solution given Bo's size.  See Bo's TPLO Page for more information on the procedure.

11/03/2004

Took Bo to the CARE Center on 11/02/2004 to find out why he has been having periodic nose bleeds and if there was anything that could be done for his heavy/labored breathing.  Turns out my pup has cancer.  I knew when they told me he weighed 94 lbs.  That means he lost 6 lbs in < than 2 months.  I could clearly see his spine and most ribs.  Spots on his liver and spleen, enlarged lymph nodes, and the boney mass on his ribs.  Further test revealed heart problems and there was free fluid in the chest cavity.  Bo knew.  When  we got there and went into the exam room he was calm.  No shaking no stressed out Bo...just his heavy breathing.  When I went in to be with him he didn't even recognize me nor did he want any treats I brought from home...food is one thing Bo likes no matter when it's offered.  After a few minutes with him and no reaction I told them I was ready and my pup was relieved of his pain.  As usual the drive home was long.  Not as surreal as with Missy...guess it gets easier each time.  No more Bo with a teddy bear in his mouth walking around in excitement.  No more meeting on the landing when I get home.  Bye pup...you'll be missed.  Getting old sucks.

THIS PAGE LAST UPDATED ON 11/28/2004 at 05:56:27 PM