Man's Best Friend

I was lucky enough to find the Keeshond breed of dog back in the mid-nineties, quite by accident. I may have heard of them once before I ended up with one in the early 1980s when a high school friend Gordon Rice mentioned how great his dog was, a "Keeshond", which to that point I had never even heard of in my sixteen or so years. I was a Retriever fan back then, with a wonderfully intelligent big Flat-coat Retriever named "Sam". Well, thirteen or so years passed and my girlfriend brought a foundling who she had rescued back to her condo where I was staying. She called him "Max", which he did not really answer to, but my Mom and I discovered a few days later the name he recognized was "Casey". I have adored this breed ever since. My eighteen year old "Bru" is dying of liver cancer. I rescued him for a New England-based organization nine years ago and was supposed to hold him only until a woman "Brooke" came to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby and was going to take him back with her to Lexington, Kentucky that night. Her social media showed her at the Derby that day, but she never came to collect Bru. Thank you Brooke. I have loved this great little fella 9 years and as he is now actively dying of liver cancer, only wish I had more time with him. I thank the Lord for Bru or as my eight year old daughter calls him "Bru Bella", the most consistent aspect of my life for nearly a decade, and one of the best friends I have ever had.