In Memoriam: Hiwakea “Bob” Chu

Last night,  Jan 21, 2022, I had to put my closest companion to sleep.

Little Dude adopting a new owner (again)

He’d started out as the family dog when the kids were in elementary school.

We picked him up at the rescue after narrowing it down to him and a mature female Aussie.

The worker at the rescue noticed how my daughters liked how much he acted like a puppy. He was probably 10 lbs soaking wet.

We brought him home on trial basis and he immediately peed on the carpet at the top of the stair landing. After doing so, he looked at me, no remorse, just attitude. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and rubbed his nose in his own urine until he wimpered, and at that point we had an understanding.

Through the years, via constant challenge and reinforcement we negotiated who would be alpha dog. He’d work the cuddly angle on all the girls, but when it came to dude stuff, like walking outdoors, and peeing on trees, it was me and him. Once the kids moved out we were pretty much inseparable.That meant routine walks, M/W/F was Terramar Beach Trails. One day a week we would sneak down to the sand for a romp w/ his buddy LC. He’d run like a little puppy even at age 17.  The other days would be longer walks on the trails in the Eucalyptus groves near our house. These were our normal scheduled outings.

There were also unscheduled outings. One would be a bike trip down to the lagoon. When he was younger he would sit in a pannier on the bike with his head poking over the top of the bag, and we’d ride down there for a walk. On one occasion, an unseen pothole caused the pannier and dog to come loose from the bike. This sent the bag and dog rolling across the street. When it came to a stop, he jumped out and looked at me like “what was that about?”. Then he’d get back in and we’d continue our adventure.Other trips to the lagoon involved the SUPs. He’d frequently stand on the nose of the board of either Kat or me. Sometimes we would swim between the boards. He never really liked going on the SUPs just did it to be with us.

The memories could go on but my heart can’t bear to dig them out.

Last weekend I had tested positive for COVID. In order to avoid spreading the virus to my wife I’ve sleeping in my home office. That’s where my dog would sleep too. He got the couch, I got the floor. Unknowingly, we got to spend his last few nights together. I had to carry him in from last night’s walk. He couldn’t make it to the door. We got in the car and had to figure things out at the vet’s office. He couldn’t raise his head to look at me. He just drooled, gasped, and gagged. I cried a lot and will miss him.