ben passed away today.

he came into my life about 12 yrs ago. he was a rotti/beagle cross (with the worst traits of both breeds) and we thought at the time that he was about 8 yrs old. my son's high school girlfriend adopted him from the shelter i used to volunteer with. ben spent a lot of time at our house and on the dykes with tyra and then copper and me. he was always a jerk with other dogs but he was pretty good with my guys, except tally....tally hated ben and for good reason (i adopted tally because ben ripped him open in a fight at the shelter.)

anyway..ben did well in his new home, vanessa dressed him up in yellow rain slickers and dance tutu's which i thought was hilariously funny cuz he thought he was so tough. eventually vanessa and eric parted ways but she stayed friends with my daughter jenn so i was always well aware of ben and his stories.

eventually vanessa left home and took ben with her. he was not an apartment dog and started barking and causing trouble. when she finally had to give him up a couple of years ago, he came to saints to live with me.

good lord. ben was a pain in the ass. he just loved to fight and jump the other dogs, he thought it was fun. the only dogs i could let him near were copper and tyra and phoebe (go figure) so he spent his time in the front entranceway or in a pen we made for him in the front yard. he only got his field runs when the other dogs were all thru.

when evelyn, a senior lady came looking for a senior dog to live alone with her...ben was the perfect choice. i paid a handyman to beef up her fence and lynne agreed to exercise him a couple of times a week and the rest of the time ben hung out on his own leather loveseat watching TV with his new permanent foster mom.

ben has had some pain issues relating to arthritis in the past couple of years...by our original age estimate, he was like over 20...so we re-adjusted his age downwards a few years and put him at 16 instead. who knew how old that dog really was?...he was like al...he just didn't know he was old....but he was grey when i knew him 12 years ago and he has gotten a lot older since then.

anyway...yesterday, lynne had him out to heritage park...he was goofing around on the sandy beach and probably blew a couple of disc's in his back. he still couldn't get up today so lynne and evelyn took him into the vets and on their advice, they helped him to pass.

ben was part of an era for me and his passing brings both of our past lives to mind. he was a very good dog (with people) and a pain the ass with most four legged kinds. (unless they were tougher than him cuz ben was no fool to pick a fight he would lose)

rest in peace you chubby, stubborn, kick ass and happy dog....you made the world interesting and there were quite a few of us that really loved you.

thank you evelyn and lynne for caring for ben so well and making sure his last couple of years were happy...my deepest condolences to you both, i know how much you loved him.