Wilson resting on his last morning, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 10, 2026
Wilson enjoying one of his favorite things one last time...deck water!, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 10, 2026
Wilson checking out the geese, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 9, 2025
Wilson ready for Halloween, Belchertown, MA, Oct 31, 2025
Wilson exploring in the snow, Belchertown, MA, Jan 8, 2024
Wilson ready for the eclipse, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 8, 2024
Wilson getting a laser treatment after surgery, Jul 5, 2023
Wilson in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2022
Playing ball with Wilson, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2022
Wilson enjoying a fall day, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2022
Wilson playing with the deflated soccer ball, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 2, 2022
Wilson, Belchertown Land Trust trail, Belchertown, MA, Dec 4, 2019
Wilson surveying the world from on top of a snowbank, Home, Mar 7, 2015
Wilson ready for the 4th of July, Belchertown, MA, July 3, 2015
Wilson trying to find something under the snow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Feb 7, 2014
Wilson trying to figure out what a Painted Turtle is, Belchertown, July 15, 2013
The post today is all about my boy Wilson. We had to make the very difficult decision to end his suffering yesterday. He had declined fairly rapidly the last couple weeks and we always said we would never let him suffer and the decision would be based on his quality of life. He was part of our family for over 15 years and he made it to just shy of 15 1/2 years on this planet. Wilson came to us via an Australian Shepard rescue group from a farm in West Virginia. We met him in Connecticut in early July 2011 when he was a four month old pup named Wally (we knew that name just didn't fit him so after lots of discussion he became Wilson). After losing our old boy Kody in March 2010 we had tried a few other dogs briefly but none fit in (or we were just not ready for a new dog at the time). We were not totally convinced on taking a chance on this pup but we did anyway because he was so damn cute. He was a difficult boy to deal with early on as he not been socialized properly early on so had a variety of behavior issues when dealing with new situations or people and he would go on 'walk strikes' when he would refuse to continue on a walk! We dealt with his issues and eventually he became a great dog that loved those closest to him. He had a laundry list of medical issues over the years and was on various meds for almost his whole life. In the last five years he fought a cancer diagnosis and multiple surgeries and always seemed to bounce back. We had many difficult medical decisions to make over the years for him and in the end we feel we made the right choices with the goal always being quality of life for him, even if it meant less time with him. He had quite a life and was my constant companion on our daily walks. We had so many adventures over the years that to recall them all would fill volumes. I spent more time with him over the years then I spent with anyone else by a fair margin. Our only disagreement was the fun that winter and snow provided...he loved it and I hated it! I already miss him beyond what words can express and I feel completely and totally lost without him. He is now free of pain and I hope he had met up with Kody and they are playing and running around.
