"Compassion is the language that even the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
—R. Wallen
It was time for a lifestyle change, and that's when Miguel first met Bo. Miguel Perez-Lizano, 49, a technology analyst with IBM, decided it was time to leave San Francisco after living there for 42 years. His opportunity came in 1990 when he noticed a 40 acre farm listed for sale in Battle Ground, Washington. It was the perfect country residence, and with the extra acreage, Miguel thought it was an attractive investment opportunity.
"It was a beautiful property with a creek on one side and, in the center, a three acre, spring-fed pond stocked with rainbow trout. My plan was to build a luxury home overlooking the pond," Miguel said. On further inspection of the property, he also noticed a German Shorthair Pointer, the only dog remaining in the kennels on the estate. The widow, who was selling the property, cared very little for the dog she called Bo—after all, overseeing him was one of the mundane duties of the caretaker. After she fired the caretaker two years earlier, neighbors say that Bo never saw the outside of his kennel again.
Bo's papered name was Super Bo Fur Halb, and he was born on the farm Thanksgiving Day 1985. He belonged to the widow's late husband, an outdoorsman, who had taken Bo everywhere with him. On one rare traveling occasion, Bo was left behind at home. Though accustomed to riding on planes with his master, he was not invited this time. It was a decision that saved Bo's life. The plane crashed on that fateful trip, and Bo's master never returned.
Now Bo's days were spent alone in a four by twenty foot chain link kennel. From there he viewed the farm and its occasional visitors—no more car rides, no more airplane rides, no more outdoor adventures, no more companion. Occasionally, he saw the real estate agent showing people around the farm. He barked, but nobody ever stayed.
Then one day, the real estate agent showed the farm to Miguel. Bo stood on his hind legs and banged the gate of his kennel with his front paws trying to capture Miguel's attention. How could anyone who loved animals, as Miguel did, resist that kind of pleading? Miguel responded compassionately by unlatching the gate and taking Bo for a walk—a simple act that bonded them for life.
The widow originally wanted to sell Bo apart from the real estate. However, Miguel negotiated with her, and in the final settlement, she decided to throw the dog in with the deal. "So that's how I got Bo. He became my constant companion, and [he] never set foot in the kennel again," Miguel said.
Traveling Partners
During the next four years, Bo went everywhere with Miguel. It was amusing to Miguel that wherever they went, Bo always attracted the attention of the ladies. Miguel teased, "[Bo] hurt my feelings—for a long time I thought the ladies were coming up to pet him so they could talk to me. Then I found out it was really him they found attractive! One time he managed to corner three airline stewardesses at Timberline Lodge [in Oregon]. They hardly paid any attention to me."
In May of 1994, Miguel took Bo on their first, long, road trip to Arizona where Miguel wanted to visit friends, go hiking, and do a little treasure hunting. "I like Western history and [enjoyed] researching treasure tales," he explained. As they traveled a route through northern California, Miguel stopped frequently at rest stops to walk with Bo, thinking he would need a break from the confines of the Bronco.
Everything seemed to go well until Miguel reached his friend's home in Arizona. There they were confronted with immediate trouble from the neighbor's dog. "On jumping out of the Bronco, a large dog circled around and attacked Bo. He could barely walk and required 35 stitches on his leg, so he never went on hikes with me during the trip," Miguel said.
For the rest of the trip, Bo didn't feel like doing much of anything. While Miguel went hiking, Bo rested. Miguel didn't think anything was peculiar about Bo's lethargic disposition, considering what he had been through. However, on their route back home before they reached Los Angeles, Bo began to act strangely. "He did not want to go back into the Bronco," Miguel recalled. Since Bo didn't tolerate heat well, Miguel simply thought that was the reason for his odd behavior. Once he coaxed Bo back into the vehicle, though, Miguel didn't give it anymore thought.
A Circular Rash
The long drive home was again punctuated by frequent rest stops along the way, but eventually they made it back to their farm. "We made it home, and shortly after [that], I started to feel bad," said Miguel. It was then that he noticed a circular rash, about 10 cm in diameter, on the right side of his chest. Recalling this, he said, "[I] remembered a feeling of dread. I felt lousy, but not terrible. I was always the type to tough things out rather than see a doctor." He toughed it out this time, too, and the rash faded away along with Miguel's concern.
Oddly, when he noticed his own rash, he also noticed about one-fourth of a circular rash on Bo's tummy. Miguel was planning to take Bo to the veterinarian's office for an exam, but since Bo's rash disappeared quickly, and he was acting normally, he thought it was a harmless, self-limiting insect bite.
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