He was a beagle mix with short legs, a loud bark and a big heart.
This dog was no stranger to change.
Our family won the upheaval lottery during Oboes life.
His story starts in front of a grocery store, where someone was giving away puppies.
My daughter and granddaughter immediately fell in love with this little guy.
He was about 6 months old.
To his last breath, no one knew his birthdate.
My daughters family took Oboe for regular vet visits, got him his shots and kept him well-fed.
A great beginning to what would become a complicated life.
Around the time Oboe turned 5, my daughter and her husband divorced.
Then, after another problematic relationship ended, my daughter moved in with me back into her childhood bedroom.
Although her ex-husband and youngest child begged to take the dog to their home, my daughter kept Oboe.
She insisted that she needed her canine friend for support as she began her sobriety.
I already had two doggie family members, so whats one more?
Besides another mouth to feed, another four-legged friend to walk and more work for the pooper scooper?
Oboe slept in my daughters arms after her drug-induced episodes.
He walked by her side during sleepless nights.
But eventually, Oboe was left behind when my daughter entered a rehab facility.
Oboe moved in to fill that space.
Each morning as my mom showered, Oboe sat on the bathroom rug.
He curled up by her feet as she read the paper.
All day he listened to her non-stop chatter, only leaving her side for pee breaks.
A few years later, my granddaughter moved in.
I converted my home office into a bedroom.
Nightly, he waited by her bedroom door for her return from evenings out with friends.
During her sleepless nights, his furry body welcomed her tears of worry and fears about her future.
By then, my mom was lost in her dementia, so that person became me.
I often woke up in the middle of the night to find him staring at me.
But it became obvious that Oboes wasnt.
