Bo, the Canine Opera Singer

Bo Schembarkler (18 June 1994 to 21 July 2008) hailed from Templeton, Mass., a suburb of Gardner. He was a proud citizen of the Boston suburb of Newton (and resident with my non-canine parents), spending most of his time asleep on the floor or on the blue couch. The white couch was a very large roof for Bo's tennis balls and other toys, which defied all laws of inertia and physics to find their way underneath. Bo would scratch the floor until you recovered the ball he wanted - always the last one to be retrieved.

Bo invented a new twist on the game of fetch. Instead of bringing his toy back and delivering it to you so you could throw it again, he would bring it back and tease you, letting you make a grab for it and then jerking it away just before you got your hands on it.

But Bo's most bizarre talent - one I believe was not entirely within his control - was his ability to sing opera duets. He preferred to sing with sopranos with thick vibrato: Put on Anna Moffo singing "Quando men vo" from La Boheme, and, as if entranced, Bo would spring from a deep sleep, wander over to the sound source, and begin howling restlessly. He wouldn't cease until the sound was turned off.

Oh, and unless you're a University of Michigan football fan, you might not realize that Bo was named after Michigan's former head coach, Bo Schembechler.

This is Bo.