I can't believe Ben has his own thread. Thank you Joe. He was truly a member of our family. We tried to give him the best 13 1/2 years out of his about 16 that we could. We wanted to make up for the treatment he got before we found him that day at the Humane Society. It was a rough first couple years with the wild man- he almost went back the first week after he hog tied me with the runner lead and tried clawing his way into the garage. Once we realized it was separation anxiety and tried bringing him to the shop, it was a different story. We were lucky to have so many good years, he could jump into the back of the Superduty and even Loco! It broke my heart and his when I had to start leaving him at home when I went to events the last year or so. Mom & the guys at the shop said it was the most pathetic thing to watch, the last couple, they thought he might just die from a broken heart. That kind of loyalty is heartbreaking! People thought we were crazy coordinating travel schedules to accommodate "the dog". Would you leave your child behind? The first year I had my RV, flat towed Silver to LA to pick up my friend Christine went to the Arizona Stampede, did Fab Fords, Bronco Daze and Moab. We parked the RV in Phoenix, Dad flew down to spend a week or two in the RV with Ben while I flew home to get work done, then we traded places again. I believe it was close to 6,000 miles that I did that year with my faithful copilot! I have no idea how many Bronco events he made it to but I have hundreds of pics. I share them and have people tell me they wish they had seen as much of this country as he did! Sadly, the shop seems a lot emptier today. No one snoring on his bed in my office. It's going to take a long time to not miss my cohort. I'll stop rambling now, thank goodness for waterproof eye liner and mascara. Please all remember what an amazing and loyal companion you can get for $60 and save a life in the process!! I don't know what all he was lab something was always my answer but he was full of love!
Suzy