My sister Angela's Old English sheepdog, Boo-Boo, was my first niece and my parents' first grandchild. Soon after Angela and Alex were married, they brought home Boo-Boo, the most adorable black and white puffball I'd ever seen. She was instantly part of our family—going on family vacations, receiving birthday and Christmas gifts, and even being 'babysat' by her aunts and grandparents.

One of my favorite types of babysitting was taking Boo-Boo to PetSmart. Armed with the Christmas wish list her mom wrote out for her, we could barely make it in the door before the love-fest would begin. Everyone wanted to pet Boo-Boo, and she was all too happy to give kisses back to her adoring fans.

Angela once read in a dog book that sheepdogs have the 'personality of a clown,' and Boo-Boo fit that description to a T. Nothing showed this more than Christmas mornings with Boo-Boo, when she proved to be quite the gift un-wrapper. No amount of curling ribbon, tissue paper, or wrap could keep Boo-Boo from getting to her new toys. And once she got them unwrapped, she would work hard to get all of them under her paws at once—her way of saying 'mine!'

That was just one of many adorable communication tactics Boo-Boo used over the years. Boo-Boo was very good at making sure she was heard. Like the time that she ran out of water in the middle of the night—Boo-Boo picked up her giant water dish and started banging it on the kitchen floor. While the noise certainly woke up Angela, she tried her best to roll over and go back to sleep, but Boo-Boo was not going to be deterred that easily. After a few unsuccessful minutes of banging her dish, Boo-Boo finally put the dish down, but not for long. She went into her parent's room, walked up to her mom's side of the bed, and ran her huge pink tongue down the side of her mom's face. Then she immediately ran back to the kitchen and started banging again. Needless to say, she got her water refill!

Boo-Boo also knew how to get attention. While being cute and adorable usually did the trick, sometimes more cunning tactics were required. Like the time my mom, Boo-Boo's grandmother, was trying to take an afternoon nap on the couch while dogsitting. Boo-Boo entertained herself for a while with a big stuffed turtle toy, but she soon decided that grandma need to be playing with her. First, Boo-Boo tried chomping repeatedly on the squeaker in her toy, but my mom just kept her eyes closed and ignored Boo-Boo. Much like the water dish incident, Boo-Boo was not deterred. Instead, she picked up her turtle toy, which was soaked with Boo-Boo's slobber, and brought it over to mom on the couch. When just sitting it next to her napping grandmother didn't work, Boo-Boo, who was just at couch height, started shoving the wet toy into grandma's napping face. Nothing says get up and play with me like a drool-soaked stuffed turtle, so once again Boo-Boo got her way.

As you can see, Boo-Boo was a smart pup. In addition to getting her message across, Boo-Boo also knew some adorable tricks. She's the only dog I've ever seen who knew the difference between shake and high-five, and I've never seen a dog who was as adept at licking (but not chomping) a popsicle until it was gone.

I've only touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of great Boo-Boo stories. Like all Old English Sheepdogs, Boo-Boo (aka Puffdaddy, Fluffasaurus, Boo-Bunny, etc.) was a great entertainer. She was a part of our family for almost 14 years, and we loved every moment of her company. There simply aren't words to say how much she's missed. Fortunately we'll have all of our great Boo-Boo stories to hold onto forever.

The Marshall Family