He was known by many names. BlackTop. B Boy. B Boysenberry. Bippy. B Bippy. Sir Bippy. Boo Boo bear. BlackTopius Bottomus. Kiddo. Mr. Sir. He was our main man, man. The list is endless. And yes, occasionally he was also known by jackass or S--t Head. But every one of those names was spoken with love.

B Boy came into this home 7 years ago. He was a rescue and was about 2 ½ when he arrived. He had a rough life before meeting his real Momma for the first time. In fact, about 6 months after gracing this home with his presence, the previous owner was arrested for animal abuse. We will never know exactly what happened to him for his first couple of years but his remaining 7 years were, we hope, much better.

When he first arrived it was just him and his new Momma. Michelle and I didn’t meet for another 2 years. She instantly became his protector and savior. She showed him what love was. She showed him compassion and caring. She showed him that the world is not filled with pain and fear. And by God, she showed him what cookies were! There was a small adjustment period but, believe you me, he came out the other side with a passion for life, love, and again, cookies.

There are no words to describe how precious he was to us. How much his presence filled this house. He was the heartbeat of our home. A life force not to be reckoned with. We have 2 other dogs and a cat that we love very much but the house is so still and empty without him.

He was a People. He was not just a dog. He wasn’t a pet or a companion. He was a People. He was as much a part of this household as either Michelle or me. He was her child first but I loved him as my own.

B Boy was a very healthy pup. He only had one ear infection in all his years (which, Cocker owners, you know is rare). Other than that he was strong and happy and healthy. Until Feb. 2^nd of this year. Overnight he became lethargic and started coughing. We actually thought he had eaten something that he shouldn’t have like a shoe or a belt (oh how he loved his leather!). But after a couple of days, we realized that something else was wrong. We rushed him to urgent care on the night of the 2nd.

After a bunch of tests and x-rays, we were told that B Boy had heart disease. The news was shocking to say the least. We were told to get to a cardiologist as soon as possible. We got an appointment and took him the next day. They drained 200ccs of blood from around his heart and another 30ccs from his abdomen. It wasn’t heart disease, we were told, it was Hemangiosarcoma. We were then told to get to an oncologist a.s.a.p. We scheduled an appointment for that Friday (the 4^th).

Hemangiosarcoma is an incurable, nasty, and invasive cancer. Typically, it starts on the spleen or liver and then spreads to other organs in a very short time. His, however, started on his heart which is rare. He had a tumor attached to his heart and it was leaking a lot of blood causing his heart to have to work extra hard.

Multiple tests were run and there we no other tumors present. The news was as good as we could have hoped for. At least his body wasn’t ravaged by tumors. We were told that we had anywhere from days to 7 months with him. The best prognosis is always surgery combined with chemo, but surgery wasn’t an option because of the placement of the tumor. Best case scenario, chemotherapy would give us a couple of good months with him. We scheduled a chemo appt. for Tuesday the 8^th. He was fine over the weekend, having been drained of all the blood and fluid in his body. He played and seemed like his old self.

We made a bucket list for him. Everything that he ever wanted was his for the taking. All the cookies you can stomach? Yes. Rides in the car no matter where we go? Yes. Eating at the dinner table with us? You bet! He went shopping at PetSmart, PetCo, and LexiDog (a local pet boutique). Whatever he wanted, he got. We filled up baskets with toys and cookies that he had picked out. In fact, he ate a couple of treats right in the store isles (we paid for them). He got all the belly loving and butt scratching that he could handle. He had the time of his life.

After chemo on Tuesday, he was lethargic and didn’t want to eat. We were going to chalk it up to chemo but decided to call the vet anyway. They said that he shouldn’t be having a reaction to the chemo yet (it takes 3-5 days) and to watch him overnight. The next day, he was still not okay. We took him back into the emergency room on Wednesday.

They wanted to keep him overnight for observation and tests. They called us at about 12:30 am Thursday morning and said that they had drained more blood and fluid from his body and it was already filling back up. He was having a hard time breathing. They thought his time was very short. We rushed in to get him to bring him home. They actually left his IV catheter in and gave us a list of home euthanasia doctors in the area.

When we got home he was put on the couch and didn’t move much after that. This was not our B Boy. He was always up and around and into something. He never sat still for hours on end. His breathing became more shallow and there was nothing that we could do for him except tell him that we loved him. We covered him in kisses and hugs. We never took our hands off of him for the 6 hours that we had left. The doctor arrived at our home about 12:20pm on Thursday and he was gone by 12:30pm.

He went from happy and healthy on Feb 2^nd to gone on the 10^th.

Bippy, you were so loved and your time was far too short with us. We will never, ever, ever, ever, forget you. We did not deserve to know you. We didn’t deserve your love or affection or admiration. You were a tremendous People and you taught us so much about ourselves and about life.

You taught us to be more caring and compassionate people. You taught us that time is precious. You taught us to not sweat the small stuff and to cherish each and every moment. You taught us to not take anything for granted. We love you, Kiddo. We cry for you constantly and you and just know that you left behind a legacy. Thank you for sharing your life with us.

We love you, B Boy and we always will.

Love,

Mom and Dad