On June 6th we lost our beloved Benson.
He was our first kid and the girls first dog. We were so fortunate to have had almost 14 years with him. When we got him from Philadelphia Animal Control, a horrendous organization that has since been closed, he was about 7 months old and pretty sick, but with the most loving heart you will ever know.
He made three house moves with us, and was my work companion for the first six months of Maven while we worked out of Rebecca’s house. He was our travel companion, tagging along on many the boat vacation and car trips up and down the east coast. In his younger days he was our hiking and trail running buddy, only straying from our side when he saw a squirrel. He loved people and had a healthy fear of small yappy dogs and cats, having no idea of his size and strength.
Both of our kids learned to crawl by trying to reach him and to walk by pulling themselves up on him. While he would give us the occasional side eye, he never once yelped, barked or tried to hurt them.
Sophie around 18 months 
Lauren around 10 months 
Sophie around 4 months
Both girls loved him, but it was clear that Lauren was really his true companion. She always wanted to know where he was, would wake him up if he was having a bad dream, would drape a blanket over him if he looked cold, and gave him endless snuggles, whether he really wanted them or not.
While the last months have been tough on everyone, quarantining allowed us to spend literally every day of his last three months with him.
We’re all still feeling sad and missing him so much, but our hearts are also full of great memories of the best dog there ever was.
