saying goodbye to our Basil...

It was a hot July day in 2009 when we made the trip up to Reno, planning to take home a dog we had only seen online.  Little did we know that God had other plans.  When we arrived we were introduced to you instead.  From the moment you laid your head in my lap, on the long journey to what would become your forever home, you captured a special place in my heart.


It wasn't long before you became my constant shadow, following me from room to room.  There was something reassuring in knowing that whenever I opened a door you would be anxiously waiting for me on the other side.





You thrived in your new home environment but, through no fault of your own, you struggled with being alone.  We jokingly called you "Houdini" because you quickly learned how to escape from or chew your way out of almost every crate that we bought.  People often laughed at the extreme measures we had to take to keep you in your crate whenever we left the house.  Padlocks & chains for one of the most harmless, toothless dogs you'd ever come across.  I knew it was mostly because you just loved to be with your people.

You were fiercely loyal & would always come to my rescue whenever daddy was "picking on me".  All I had to do was pretend to cry & you would come & attack him.  But you loved your daddy too.  Your favorite things were cuddling & wrestling with him & you always awarded him with the most kisses.




You were always patient & loving with little kids although you were jealous whenever I held a baby or another dog.

You loved your own "babies" & every morning you went into their rooms to help me wake them up.  You cuddled with them when they were sick & whenever they spent the night at someone else's house you would frequently wander into their rooms looking for them.  I think you liked it best when all of your people were in one room.








Any time someone came to visit I'm pretty sure you thought they came just to see you.  You welcomed each person with the famous "boxer wiggle" & gave them a thorough sniff-down to determine where they had been.






We laughed at how much of a nosey neighbor you were.  You would toss the blinds aside with your nose & sit at the front window watching what was happening outside.  Forever a peeping-tom.



You loved going on walks & rides in the car.  Your favorite words were "do you want to go for a..." You always knew the words "walk" or "ride" were going to follow & would quite literally leap for joy.








You dealt with your fair share of struggles throughout your life.  From being abandoned when you were a puppy, sent to two different rescue shelters, suffering separation anxiety, being picked up by Animal Control, undergoing various surgeries to remove tumors & finally your legs literally giving out on you.  But despite all of that you always had a sweet disposition & were happy & loving to everyone who came in contact with you.

I will forever miss your boxer wiggle, how you would come running whenever you heard someone open a peanut butter jar, your love of bananas, hearing you snore - even when you were awake, going on walks with you, your goofy grin, how your tongue would grow to be as big as your head whenever we went for a walk, the way you wouldn't fully stick your head out the window when you went for a ride in the car, how you refused to stay in the back seat no matter how many times I told you not to jump over into the front, how much you loved it when I blew warm air from the hairdryer on your back, how you would always hog the heater vent in the winter, how you rolled around on your back - legs flailing in the air when you had an itch & the way you would look up at me with your big brown eyes.








We love you, Basil McMazil.  You may have left this life but you will never leave our hearts.