So long ole' boy

Yesterday was a sad day. Dave had to put his family's dog Blitzer down. He had a good run, though. He was a "German Shepard" (or so they were told, but he really didn't look like a German Shepard), and he was almost 11 years old. I'd say that was pretty good. We miss him terribly. He was the most gentle dog I have ever seen. He was so good with the grand kids, and I always trusted him around Mia, and that's a good feeling for a mother to have. Dave's nephew Steele would even ride him like a horse around his parent's house and poke is eye almost out and Blitzer wouldn't do a thing about it.
Some of my favorite memories are:
-When Dave and I were dating, we'd take Blitzer on Sunday walks down to Mesa High School and let him run free in the baseball fields. He loved running and feeling the wind in his fur.
-We took Blitzer hiking with us around Arizona. He did an awesome job climbing the rocks and getting around the mountain. He left tons of hair in my car from that day and I kept finding Blitzer hair on my clothing at work for weeks after that. It brought a smile to my face every time.
-He was a good listener. He would just stay right there and listen to whatever you wanted to say. He never offered advice, gave his opinion, or interrupted you with an experience he could relate to. He just listened and sat by you.
-He loved food. Just like me. You could get him to do anything by saying, "Blitzer!!! Hot Dog!!!"
-He was a good swimmer and he and Mia got to have swimming days together last summer.
-He just wanted to sit and be with you wherever you were. He would quietly sit in the room you were in and just be. It was nice to feel like someone wanted to be around you just because.
-He was a good camping buddy. One time when we took him camping with us, it started raining in the middle of the night. He was sleeping outside our tent protecting us (ha) and started jumping on the tent...on my side!!! I was 4 months pregnant and it was an unpleasant way to wake up in the middle of the night. He was just scared of the weather, I can't blame him. We let him in and he slept great.
-Even though he got some flack for his common sense from some members in the family, we think he is the one having the last laugh. He knew how to get what he wanted, and he wasn't easily deceived. When he'd stand by the door to go out, you could say "Macaroni. Monkey. Pool." and he wouldn't move. But you'd say "Out!" and he was out the door. Same with "load!" to get in the car, or "go to the bathroom!" and he'd do it. We think he was pretty smart after all.
-Our last favorite memory was his sleeping patterns. He spent his days going from room to room around the house trying to experiment with different sleeping positions. It was comical to walk in a room and see his legs up in the air and be totally out.
We sure will miss him, but we know he's in a better place now having all the hot dogs he can handle.