The Original Because of Love

I know that there are a lot of questions about what happened with my sister and Bo. I thought I should give a few more details.

Here is the story.....
Danielle was staying at our house while we were in Atlanta taking care of the dogs and the cat. On Thursday night, Danielle was going around turning off lights and getting ready to go to bed. She wasn't sure where Bo was, so she went to look and see if he was in his crate. She said that it was dark in the room so she leaned down to look inside. All of a sudden he jumped at her. He bit her about 4 times, but she said it all happened so fast that she doesn't really remember anything except for him jumping and her falling down on the ground. She said that she screamed and that he stopped and looked at her for a second and then ran away.

Bo was always very protective of his crate. Danielle says that she doesn't think that he knew it was her because it was so dark. She said that when she screamed he stopped and looked at her and she thinks that is when he realized it was her.

She was bleeding a lot, so she called our friend Joy who lives right down the road. Joy came and took her to the hospital. They also called my Mom, who then called us.

Josh and I had just gotten back to our hotel room in Atlanta. We had gotten ready for bed and were relaxing when my mom called. We both were very shocked, but we quickly packed up our things, checked out of the hotel and drove home. We got home close to 4am.

Friday was the hard day for us. On the way home we had made our decision of what had to be done. Josh called the vet in the morning and made an appointment. We then headed to the hospital to see Danielle. It was very hard seeing her laying in a hospital bed. Both Josh and I felt a mixture of many emotions. We stayed for awhile and then headed home.

After spending some time with Bo, we said our goodbyes and Josh took him to the vet at about 2 o'clock. He was able to stay with Bo and held him while the procedure took place. He said it was very fast and Bo just fell asleep in his arms.

Here are some of the ?s that we have been asked:

- How is Danielle?
She is doing ok. Very sore and very sleepy! She has numerous little cuts, but there are 2 that are more serious. The first is a very large cut that is on her forehead and then comes down to the bridge of her nose. That cut was very deep and required a lot of stitches. We are praying it doesn't scar. The one that hurts her the most is actually not visual. Somehow she was cut inside her mouth under her lips, at the top of her gums. She has numerous stitches. She also has some swelling and bruises on her nose and around her eyes.

She is resting and on some pain medicine for the next week or so. The plastic surgeon is going to check her again on Wednesday and most likely take out her stitches. He said that in a week or two she will look and feel better, but it will take about 6-9 months for her to heal.

- How is Josh?
He will be fine. Josh LOVED Bo. When we got him, he was suppose to be my dog, but we knew very early on that he and Josh had a very special bond.

Yesterday was really hard on him. Watching him take Bo to the vet and then hearing him tell me about holding him was horrible. Afterwards, Josh brought Bo's body home with him. He carried him to the backyard and then spent 4 hours digging a grave in our backyard. It was heartbreaking! I will never forget the sad sight of Josh sitting in a half dug hole crying.

Today has been better. Josh took his crate, toys, collar, and leash and put them upstairs in the attic. Josh is still very sad, but I think that he will just need a little time.

- Had Bo ever been aggressive before?
Sadly, yes. He and my mom had a similar situation happen about 3 years ago. Back then we made the decision to put him in training and to be very careful with him. We don't regret that decision. Bo was a great dog. He loved us, and loved Alyse. He and my mom got over their issues and she loved him too.

Bo never acted out in front of Josh. I think that was why it was hard for him. He had never seen that side of him. However, he knew that with Alyse, we could not be too careful. I know that even today Josh and I would not be afraid of our safety, but we would never want anyone else to be hurt.

- What now?
Well, we are just going to look for the positive.

Danielle is doing better today that she was yesterday and hopefully she will make a very fast recovery with little/no scars.

We will be fine. We will miss Bo and many things will make us think of him. I think it will be hard coming home and not having Bo run to greet us at the door. It will be hard having Alyse ask for him. (Which she has done many times in the last 2 days!) It will be hard knowing he isn't around anymore, but I think everyday will be better.

*Thank you so much to all of you who have called, texted, e-mailed, and commented. I know that our whole family is thankful for your encouragement.