Remembering Simon

 I have to note the passing of a popular subject from blogs past. My son's rascally Boston Terrier Simon made his last trip to the vet this past week.

It's been a while since I've written about him as he'd lost his spunk being an old dog, living far longer than the average Boston Terrier, his 16^th birthday falling last year. We watched him this past weekend while his keepers were on vacation. Here's a picture of him we took while he was resting on a bunk bed.

I remember one blog where I wrote about his catching a rabbit in the back yard and dragging its carcass inside our house. Probably not the only rabbit he caught in his lifetime either. This past weekend when we let Simon outside, there happened to be a rabbit in our yard. Simon either didn't see him or ignored him as the rabbit hopped away.

Simon was not a sociable type when it came to other dogs either. It wasn't that long ago that he crawled under our cyclone fence in the backyard so he could charge the pit bull the neighbor had let outside in their yard. Not the best judgment on his part. Thankfully there was another fence that stood between the dogs which allowed just enough time for my son to vault the fence himself and retrieve his terrier.

When we let him out this past weekend, the pit bull next door barked, taunting him. Simon either ignored him or didn't hear. The only life he showed was when Wendy told him his worst nemesis, a squirrel, was scampering around out back. Simon ran a bit to check the situation out, but decided against a chase or vocally letting him know who was in charge.

Poor Simon. Besides his diminished faculties, he was in obvious pain,no longer able to jump up on his favorite chair or even stand normally. But his heart remained strong to the end.

My son Greg got some comfort out of reading the old blogs I'd written about Simon. For him and his wife, Simon was their first foray into creating a family, becoming the prince of their household. When firstborn son Grant came along, Simon was very reluctant to share the spotlight and made sure he would not be forgotten by photo-bombing pictures of our first grandson including these.

Simon . . . you may be gone now, but you'll never be forgotten.