Remembering Our Past Fur Family - Ben

Top Right of the photo is Ben. We adopted Ben from the Shelter in Harrisburg, PA.  Ben was around 6 months old when adopted and his prior owner had cut his collar off him and turned him loose in rural PA. He was picked up as a stray and when it came time for him to be adopted Carol was at the shelter when it opened. He actually adopted us and wanted to go with us when we first met him at the shelter but we both had to wait.

Ben was so smart he could tell his left from his right, read the time on the clock and had a very large vocabulary to the point we had to be out of his hearing range to discuss going camping, dogie doctor etc.. Ben was referred to by friends who knew him as Dr. Ben because his intelligence was so great it was easily seen. Ben led a life of luxury and constant pampering. Ben actually taught us much of what we know about German Shepherds. If the average dog knows 200 words, Ben knew over 1000.

Ben also had a terrific sense of humor as he would come over almost every day when I was putting my boots and socks on and plant his big foot on my sock to keep me from pulling it on - smiling all the time.  Ben was terrified of snakes and when we encounter one on our hikes he would literally jump 3' off the ground straight up. One time I was fishing trout along a creek in PA and Carol had Ben on leash and he slipped off the bank into deep water. I rushed in to rescue him and he never forgot that rescue. After that he would not go into water over ankle deep.

Ben holds a very special place in my heart and always will. Ben died at 12 1/2 years old of a brain tumor at home. I miss Ben to this day and wish often he could still be here to know Bozwell, Ruby and Lucy. He would have loved them greatly.