Sad Good-bye in Just in Case

Bear, the sweet little tri-pod pup that adopted my parents has vanished. Before we left for our trip, my parents noticed him acting a little differently, not eating as much, coughing some. I’ve seen him having issues with his one good back leg lately, too. My sister took care of the dogs while they were gone, and the last time she saw him was the night before we got back. They just didn’t say anything until they were sure. My 79 year old dad, who is supposed to have both knees replaced, spent an hour crawling around under their house, but didn’t find him. He’s walked the woods right behind the house, but still haven’t found him. He’s heartbroken, blaming himself for going on the trip, for not being there when Bear went. We’re all assuming he made his way to the woods, to be alone. After getting shot (the cause of him being a tripod) a few years ago, he doesn’t roam, but I know dogs tend to do that when it’s their time. I honestly don’t know if Cbaby knows yet. I’m guessing she does, but my sister is....well....odd about things like this, and seems to want to build it to the most emotional filled possible moment, so I’m not sure. He was her buddy, though. Lots of moments like this:

So, even though we may never know exactly what happened, we will all miss this sweet boy. (He was, as close as we could figure, around 13 or 14, he was a stray when he was adopted.)