Two days till Christmas. Home from my 2nd military tour, Army this time. My friend’s bulldog had puppies with a mastiff. No money, entering a decade of major surgeries with long recoveries, serious facial, head and lower limb injuries, I needed a large dog for levity, security in the mountains hours 3 from a city. A companion for my 6 yr old daughter. Buckshot, 115 lbs, quintessential companion, gentle guardian, superior ranch and hunting dog, gentle giant, an integral part of the family for a divorced, single mom. He slept by my bed, all 10 surgeries, every 4 month in-traction, bone and tendon grafts, metal hardware and staples recovery where I couldn’t move. So full of love, loyalty, happiness and perception. He’d wake others if I was in distress, and routinely informed us of developing surgical infections way before the VA docs caught it. He saved me multiple times. I had him 17 years, through many adventures. I chose ViaGen Pets because I wanted the highest chance possible of having him back. DNA preservation allowed me to deal with the emotional impact of his loss, it allows for the reality and very comforting thought that his awesomeness is not gone forever.