HIS NAME IS BOSLEY

Seven different and loving dogs have enriched our many years of marriage. We've loved each one, thought our hearts would break each time we lost one. After losing Yellow Dog to cancer four years ago, we decided not to have another dog--losing one just hurts way too much. But last year we agreed there was an empty place in our lives that only a dog could fill. We looked at want ads and searched the local humane societies numerous times, but the right dog just hadn't come along.

That changed Saturday, July 23, when we met Bosley, a shepherd mix, at the Lynchburg Humane Society. In fact, we had planned to be at our high school reunion in North Carolina that weekend, but previous commitments had reared their heads, and even though we hated to, we had had to cancel plans to attend the reunion. If we had not met Bosley that Saturday, we would have missed out on what we think is a good dog. Things work in mysterious ways, and I think we were meant to have Bosley. We fell in love with him immediately; he felt the same way about us. And he chose us, which is what we felt would happen when the right dog came along.

Bosley, a 35-pound shepherd mix.

Bosley on the dock with Ron.

Another dock photo.

Little is known about Bosley because he came to the Lynchburg Humane Society through another facility. We know he's four years old and had not been neutered at the time we adopted him on Saturday. We took care of that two days later! He is terrified of chains--no, we don't chain him and never will. He knows the words "No" and "Stay," and responds immediately. He doesn't yet know "Sit" or "Come," but he's smart and we're sure he will soon respond to those commands, too. He doesn't get sick riding in a car, and walks well on a leash. He is quite timid around strangers and we don't know how he'll do with other dogs, so we're trying to work on his social skills.

Bosley likes for Ron and me to be in the same room so he can keep an eye on both of us, and if we're in different parts of the room he will position himself so he can see us both. He seems to have a herding instinct, and I think he might have some Border Collie in him. Yay! I like Border Collies; one of our past dogs was a Border Collie.

Stay tuned for the next Bosley episode!