Po Garaguso

Po Garaguso

(by Lorraine Garaguso)  I rescued Po when he was 19 months old. From the start he was a giver. I suffered from severe PTSD and agoraphobia. I started walking Po in front of my house. Soon, to the corner and back. Next thing you know we were going around the block. Eventually Po became a therapy dog with TDI. He was awarded two TDI awards and three Versatility awards. The Great Pyrenees Club of America awarded Po the 2008 Service Dog Award for outstanding service and was officially recorded an Animal Assisted Therapy and Activities Dog on April 30, 2010. He also was a blood donor for University of Pennsylvania Vet Hospital.

Po was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma and died in seven weeks. He was eight years old. He put a great deal of love into those eight years. He managed to say “goodbye” to the staff at the blood bank who loved him so. Also the boys at the youth home who rejected him at first then grew to love and trust him. He even got to meet Luke and The Boys and spend a little time with Luke. We had not planned it this way. We planned to go to Boston together. Without Po‘s help I never would have been able to make that trip. Long story short, Po rescued me.

Po Garaguso
12-05-2001—–01-16-2010

Who was Po?

Polar Bear—a large, creamy-white carnivorous bear——–
Po certainly was a large white “bear”.

Polaris—a star of the second magnitude, at the handle of the Little Dipper and almost at the North Celestial Pole, “polarstar——–

Po certainly was a star to the technicians at the University of Penn blood bank where he donated blood for the Veterinary Hospital for six years of his life.  He was a star also to all the people he visited as a therapy dog for Therapy Dogs International.  Most of all he was a star to those who loved him so.

Poseidon—brother of Zeus and the God of the Waters——–Po was a god of the waters when he took to the beaches of Cape May every summer.

Po—a river in northern Italy——–Po was a river that ran through our lives and especially helped me to leave behind the undercurrent of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and run free once again.

Po—one of the Teletubbies——-Po did have an appearance on television in North Jersey and can be seen on the internet on ZooToo.

Power house—one with great force of energy——–Po certainly fit this description.

Police—a soldier assigned as a specified maintenance duty——–Po was the “mean police” when it came to protecting me.  He was a guard dog in every sense of the word and would give his life, no doubt, just as a police officer would if the occasion arose.

Po—symbol of the element Polonium #84, emits an alpha particle to form an isotope of lead——–Po certainly was an “alpha particle” pardon my play on words.

Poetry—language chosen to create a specific emotional response through meaning sound and rhythm, something likened to poetry especially in beauty of expression——–Po was the definition of “poetry in motion”.

Who was Po to those who loved him?    EVERYTHING

Po, we will miss you forever.

Love, Mossie

[Po Garaguso was a contestant in our 2010 Canine Cancer Calendar Contest.]

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