Boswell

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Original: Sweet Boswell spent 14 years with his owners, but when his human mom had a human baby, she feared she would not have enough time for Boswell, so he was sent to live with her father. Unfortunately, he was away on travel much of the time, and after 2 years, he felt it wasn’t in Boswell’s best interest to keep him in a home where he was not getting much attention or exercise. These circumstances led to Boswell coming to MAESSR.

“Boz” is a sweet elderly boy who gets along easily with the resident 19 year old Springer. These two seniors often switch and share their food and water bowls with no problems. Boz has met children of all ages and is gentle with them, allowing them to pet him and get close to his face. Because he has arthritis, he would do best in a family where no one wants to push down on him, tug at him, or make him do things that are hard on his body. Boz has met all of the neighborhood dogs, large and small, and does well with each of them. He is not interested in playing, but enjoys sniffing and getting to know them. It is unknown how he is with cats, but there is much reason to believe he would do fine with them.

It took Boswell about a week to become comfortable with his foster family; initially, he was clearly scared and confused, not understanding this change in living situation. Boz is housebroken and has not had a single accident in the house. When he needs to go out, he barks, and he does the same when he wants to come back in. If there is good food cooking and he thinks he might like a little of it, Boz will bark a little to indicate his desires. This sweet senior has impeccable house manners: no counter surfing, trash diving, or getting up on furniture. He likes to stay right by his human friends, and when they are not home, Boz is allowed free run of the house. During the day, he likes to move around, sleeping in different spots. At nighttime, he sleeps next to the bed. He is a very quiet sleeper, who sleeps all night long and waits until someone is up before needing to go outside.

His foster family quickly learned how much Boswell loves car rides. If a car ride is not in the plan, he is content to just lie in the car, pretending he’s going for a car ride. Boz probably was accustomed to riding in the back seat of a car, but with his foster family, he has shown willingness to ride in the front, back, or even the way back of a station wagon. The car is one of his favorite places to be!

Boz may have known commands in the past, but he is getting hard of hearing and so “come” is best said with a gesture as opposed to with the voice. Of course, there’s not much need to tell him to come, as he likes to be right with his human friends all the time anyway. When Boz is apart from his companion, the best way to get his attention is to clap and loudly say, “Boz!”

Despite his age, Boswell loves to go on walks, but because of arthritis, he does not move very fast. He walks beautifully on the leash, though, and gets excited when he sees the leash come out. He does not pull or tug, but is content to amble along, stopping to smell the flowers and other good scents. When Boz first arrived at his foster home, he could only walk about 1/4 mile. Each day he walks a bit farther; he now easily (but slowly) walks about 3/4 mile.

The ideal family for Boswell would be one that lives in a single-story home, as he will insist upon climbing up and down the stairs to be with his people, but this is clearly very hard (and dangerous) for him to do. He has difficulty getting up and down the 3 steps into the house and sometimes needs to be lifted or given a gentle boost. To keep him in good shape, he would really enjoy several long, slow walks each day. And, hopefully, his family would allow him to enjoy the world from a perch in the family car! Boz would enjoy being with a single person or many people, as long as they allowed him to stick close to them and give him a pat every now and then. This is one sweet angel of a dog, who has much love to offer.