Boomer’s beginning

It was 2002, and I was back home in northwest PA for hunting season. I called my wife back in Michigan to let her know that I had arrived safe and sound. She told me about this dog that she had heard about from our friends back home while I was traveling. She had always wanted a Sheltie, and there was supposed to be a puppy in my home town available for free. The last thing I felt we needed was a third dog, but we do these things for the ones we love. So, I called the family and made arrangements to see the dog at the end of my hunting trip.

I was leery of the situation because I knew the man involved, he had a history of dog abuse. I went to check the dog out anyway. As I walk in he says, “you should let me take him out in the woods and shoot him, he’s the dumbest dog I’ve ever owned.” He shows me into the laundry room where I find this 9 month old pup tied to a shelving unit with an 18 inch piece of rope. The rope was tied around his neck, no collar. He had an old dish towel for a bed, and it was so soaked in urine that it gushed when he stepped on it. I knew at first glance that this was not a full blood Sheltie as advertised, but, at this point, it didn’t matter. This boy was not staying here.

I knelt down on one knee to untie him and he cowered. I got the rope untied and he immediately jumped up on my leg and leaned into me. I stood up and said, “well, I guess he made his choice.” I walked out with him in my arms with the intent of nursing this poor soul back to health and finding him a good home. I took him to our friends house and bathed him. After he was dried, we packed up and headed home to Michigan. I put him in the passenger seat and hoped he would be a good traveler. We weren’t on the road more than 10 minutes when he jumped down and investigated the minivan. After 15 minutes or so, he came back up front and stood looking up at me. After a minute or two, I said, “it’s going to be ok, I’ll take care of you.” Then, he jumped up into my lap and laid down.

I was hesitant to put my hand on him or make him feel restrained in any way. So, we traveled like this for about an hour. Then, he sat up and leaned into my stomach. I reached down and gently rubbed the side of his head. After a few minutes of this, I heard him sigh and then he stood up and put his front paws on the door to watch out the window. He would look out the window for a minute or two, then look up at me for a minute or two. I would glance down and make eye contact, smile and rub his back, side or head, then look back to the road.

I stopped for gas at a service center on the Ohio Turnpike. He got a little nervous when I got out to pump the gas and kept running back and forth between the front seat and the back seat to look at me out the window. After I filled up, I took him for a little walk to let him relieve himself. We got back in the minivan to finish our trip and he immediately jumped into my lap and curled up. He appeared to sleep the rest of the trip home. I couldn’t help but rub his head and ears while I drove.

When we got home, my son said “he’s so cute, we’ll call him Boomer!” Boomer appeared to agree by jumping up into my son’s arms. I knew at that moment that this dog was home. I’ll never be sure who enriched who’s life more, but I don’t think that really matters in the grand scheme of things. He was my best friend and companion for over 16 years.