R.I.P. Caesar

Well, there's one thing that even most strangers know about us, we are dog people.  At one point we had 16 dogs under our roof (12 of them being puppies, but still a lotta' dogs!).  Today, we lost Caesar and I can honestly say I've never had a better dog.

This is the dog that gave me comfort each night that Tyler walked out the door because I knew that if given the chance Caesar would take a bullet for him.  And I'm not kidding.  It would not have surprised me, if put in a situation that was life or death, to find out that Caesar had leaped and bounded and squeezed his way through a tiny hole just to put himself in between a perp and my husband.

This is the dog that helped me sleep peacefully at night when we had our precious baby boy.  Tyler was still working nights and Caesar was retired.  This is when I felt like he became my dog too.  He would sleep in the hallway between my room and Ryker's.  If we got home while it was dark and Ty was already at work- I'd send Caes in front of us and he would check each room thoroughly.  Let me tell you, it's a good thing none of you decided to throw me a surprise party during this time.  It's very possible that Caes would've found you first and tore apart a limb.

He was trained in bite work and bomb detection.  He was one of the best.  So much so that he took my husband away from me for our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple.  Ty got to go all the way to Jamaica for a dog demo with his loyal companion.  Even with how well trained and aggressive this dog potentially could be, he's the same dog that let my little cousins climb all over him, wouldn't bat an eye as kids would tug on his tail, and if a child took that beloved red Kong out of his mouth he would just stare at it whimpering and drooling all over until one of us gave it back.

As much as I loved Caes he was always my husbands dog till the day he died.  He would follow that man anywhere and if you put anything in between them he would wine and wine until he finally could be by his side again.  OH MAN.....what a good dog.   Darnit!  Here I am sobbing at my computer.  Not because I am stricken with grief, but because I am so thankful to this dog.  He was a loyal companion, yes.  But he was a protector, a comforter and just plain good.

We'll miss you Caes, but thank you for being a dear dog to us. Thank you for serving the people of Nampa.  And thank you for looking scary and mean (or as they would whisper to one another in Jamaica, "It's Diablo."