My best friend for nine years. Tomorrow, May 1st, is your 9th “gotcha” day. But, instead of planning a day of fun outings and naughty-dog foods, we’re showering you with final kisses, hugs and snugs. My Hugo…Hooga Booga…Booga Boi…Bubba Dowg. What an absolute honor it is to be your mom. Cancer sucks 😔

When I met Hugo, it was the winter of 2014/2015. He spent most of his days on a 10-ft chain attached to a beat down wooden dog house on a garage slab in southwest Detroit. His name was Tosco back then, and he had a girlfriend/baby mama/yardmate named Rosie. His favorite
‘toys’ were bags of garbage that he could sometimes reach from his chain circle. Someone from our outreach team would visit about once a month, bringing food, long lasting treats and a lighter weight tie out. He was so excited to see us every time, that he would snatch up a volunteer and hump away 😂😂 He was a big, strong boy, too! Everyone knew Tosco as “that humper dog”.

Then on May 1, 2015, his owner called one of our volunteers in a panic. He had to leave the house immediately (not sure what the situation was but it was urgent). He was going to ‘let the dogs go’ if he couldn’t find someone to take them within the hour. OF COURSE our team came to help. We work with many rescues and knew we could find a place for Tosco and Rosie, but it would take time. Rosie went with another volunteer, and Tosco came to hang out in my garage ‘for the weekend’.

Well THAT obviously didn’t go as planned. We fostered Tosco, now Hugo, and found the perfect adopter. There was one hitch – they lived in a 2nd floor apartment and Hugo did NOT do stairs. We worked on that, and thought he was going to be OK. Hugo was going up and down mostly on his own. But after I left, things changed. At 90lbs, there was no carrying this big boi, and he had decided ‘nope’ no more stairs. So, they sent him back late that night.

When Hugo came back, he climbed on the couch…laid his full 90 lb body on top of me… and CRASHED OUT, snoring away for hours. That’s when we decided Hugo was already home. He was our dog, and we were his people. He began to claim his home after that – no one, NO ONE besides my husband and I, could walk in the house. He would launch over the couch or charge the door at anyone who came into HIS house, even people he knew and liked outside of the house!

Over the years, Hugo kept us safe, hogged our bed, shared our meals, ate snax in bed with his dad, chased the cats, went camping, had lots of walks, made dog friends, locked himself in bathrooms and dug holes in the walls, killed alllll the squeakies and so much more. He lived the life of a king. The life he always deserved. What a blessing it was when you came into our life. How did we get so lucky?