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In Memoriam: Ben

By Keith Hensley, published on July 17th, 2024
"This was our 2nd experience working with Heaven at Home. What a godsend they have become! Our first experience was during the days of Covid. There was no way we were going to drop off our dog at the vet and not be there as he took his last breath! So, we discovered Heaven at Home and they were terrific! Such kindness, patience, and understanding, they came to our house, so that the entire family could be there! Our 2nd time was just as wonderful! We all were able to surround Ben in our backyard. We didn't have to take him somewhere else and return without him. These times are hard enough, but it made it a bit easier knowing that he was comfortable as much as possible. They gave us the space to say goodbye at our pace... and was extremely gracious in every way! I highly recommend them to anyone!"

Ben was a well-traveled dog! My father and I got Ben at 8 weeks old in March of 2009. My father had just moved in with me after he suffered a mild stroke that brought on Dementia. I worked from home and traveled on occasion, so having Ben around to keep him company while I traveled seemed like a great idea! Little did I know that my work travel would not only increase, but the length of them would also. I started to travel longer than just a week at a time. Anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 weeks would allow me to be able to take dad and Ben with me. We would spend these weeks traveling to places like Las Vegas (4 times), New Orleans (2 times), Florida, Texas, and even to Canadian cities such as Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. We even were able to spend a couple of nights in New York City… overlooking Central Park and taking a sailboat tour of New York Harbor (passing the Statue of Liberty).

Extended stays in Las Vegas allowed us to visit San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Grand Canyon over the weekends. A 5-week trip to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area allowed us to take trips to Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. Of course, since we drove there and back home, we would take different routes so that we could experience various parts of this great nation.

Ben loved to swim! He had opportunities to swim in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. Rivers, such as the Ohio, Mississippi, Colorado, and Missouri, were just a few to mention. He also swam in 3 out of the 5 Great Lakes… Erie, Ontario, and Michigan. He often put on shows for people as he would ‘dive’ for rocks in the water simply because I needed them to throw for him to retrieve. People loved how his tail would be the only thing sticking out of the water as he was surveying the bottom for a rock to bring back to me! Some of these rocks were as large as his head. I could never understand how he could recover and carry such large rocks back to me!

Shortly after Ben turned 10, I got married and moved from Ohio to Michigan. My wonderful new bride took the 3 of us in to join her, her daughter, and 2 other dogs (Cooper and Akaya). We went from a family of 3, to a family of 7! Ben finally had a big brother (Cooper) and a younger sister (Akaya). My wife and stepdaughter just loved Ben. That became very obvious as Ben got older.

We eventually lost Cooper at the age of 14 after 2 years of being married. What a terrific big brother he was to Ben and Akaya! As Ben approached the age of 15, a Lypoma he had on his right side just continued to grow out of control. I’d guess that it weighed at least 10lbs… possibly 15lbs. His walking became very unstable. He’d fall and stumble into things on a daily basis. The arthritis in is legs and hip had no mercy on him and swelled too. In his final months, he needed my help to get up and to walk around outside to enjoy the smells. I’d use my leg to stabilize his back hips so that he wouldn’t fall due to his imbalance (from the Lypoma) and weekend hips. Obviously, this was too hard to continue to experience! As badly as I wanted him to be with us and to return the love that he unselfishly gave to us over the years, it became time to say goodbye. Such a hard decision to make and one that never gets easier as life goes on. We were blessed to have had Ben’s final moments come at home… outside on a gorgeous day… thanks to the wonderful organization and people at Heaven at Home!

Ben is now at peace… resting in a special place in our backyard! Knowing that he fought the good fight… loyal and faithful to the end… and loved by many that followed his adventures on social media! Now, to someday write a book about them… “Where has Ben been?”