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Boston "Crabby McNasty"
7/27/93-1/19/05

   Otherwise known as the “Black Crab”, Boston, was the most charismatic and smartest greyhound to cross my path so far.  No one would adopt him because he had interdigital dermatitis (raw feet) and no one could figure out why.  That is when Coral Swanson, then the director of PWP called me, saying I have the dog for you.  About one year earlier, I had lost my first grey, Andy and had just graduated veterinary school and had hinted to Coral that the time was right for me to find the next hound for me.  I went to the adoption kennel to meet him and was charmed by his outgoing personality and the challenge of helping him.  (He had been waiting in the adoption kennel for 6 months.)

    He joined my Shetland Sheepdog, Tassy and my fiance’s yellow Labrador, Sammy and immediately started trouble.  He was my counter surfer extraordinare, and trash can raider.  We had to totally change how we did things thanks to him!!  I will never forget the day when he dragged my backpack down the hall (all packed for a trip to the Grand Canyon the next day—all 40# of it!) and proceeded to eat a 3# bag of fruit and nut trail mix!!! But did this stop him?  Oh, no.  He also learned to place the evidence of his raids in someone else’s crate to implicate them!!!  He was an imp that brought so much to our lives!!

   Then in December 2004, we diagnosed him with osteosarcoma in his right femur (back leg.)  He had horrible arthritis since he raced until he was 5 (and he was now 11) so we chose to try to keep him comfortable as long as we could.  In less than two weeks, the tumor had grown from the size of a golf ball to the size of a softball and he was having a hard time sleeping through the night because of the pain.  We sent him to the Rainbow Bridge to join Andy and his Sheltie sister Tassy (who passed in 2002 due to bladder cancer.)  When Boston left this world, he had Sammy and 4 other greyhounds left to take care of his people!!  We miss him everyday and think of him often.  I hope you are sharing the waterbed in the clouds!!!

Dr.’s Shelley and Jeff Lake