Hi, my name is Wendy. I’d like to share my story about my dog Bo and the stranger’s miracle that gave Bo a new lease on life.
Bo is a sweet, smart Shepherd Mix rescue. She has been my companion and best friend for the past decade, inciting playful jealousy from my husband on occasion. She has been the top employee of our army surplus store, greeting customers with a bark and wagging tail, and even escorting regular customers down the aisles.
Not long ago, I noticed that Bo’s gait began to slow, her tail wagged less, and her excitement for life seemed to diminish. We took her to the vet and barraged him with a thousand questions. The vet gave some advice, recommended some nutritional changes, but also reminded us that she wasn’t a spry puppy anymore.
Our hearts broke. The vet was right, Bo wasn’t a puppy anymore, but she wasn’t THAT old either. There had to be something I could do.
We literally tried everything we could think of...
I was desperate. Nothing seemed to work.
After a while, we accepted her new state and did what we could to make her comfortable. She spent most of the day resting in her bed by the till and on occasion when she rose slowly to greet customers.
On a Saturday morning, a man walked into our store, looking for drop cloths or something. I pointed him in the right direction as he stooped to greet Bo in her bed. She painstakingly stood to show her approval of him scratching behind her ears.
Moments later, he returned to the counter with his items, but during the checkout process, his attention was on Bo. He asked her age and about the stiffness. After I handed him the receipt, he thanked me and left the store. I thought that was the end of it.
Within two minutes the man stood in front of me again, this time holding a small gray bottle in one hand and his business card in the other. He said he was the head of product development for a nutritional company that focused on pet health and longevity.
He then explained that he was returning from a conference, then handed me the bottle. It was a plain, gray bottle with a white lid. On the label was written “EX-37” in black marker. I looked up at him, sceptically.
He smiled and said, “Ignore the label. We haven’t thought of a name for it yet. But I think Bo could use this.”
“I’ve tried them all, but thanks for the offer,” I said, handing back the bottle.
“Keep it. It’s not like other supplements. Trust me.” Then he turned and left.
By the time the door had closed behind the stranger, I had tossed both the bottle and the card in the waste paper bin and returned to work. Hours later as I was emptying the rubbish, a thought occurred to me. What do I have to lose? I didn’t believe his new pills would help Bo any more than the rest of the junk they supply in the Pet Shops. But he was nice and Bo liked him…
So I popped open the bottle and tossed a pill to Bo. She gobbled it up.
I continued giving her a pill each morning. My husband teased me for feeding my dog a mystery pill from a stranger, but he teased me about everything, so, whatever.
A short time later, Keith, a regular customer walked in and greeted me and Bo. Then he exclaimed, “Wendy, what have you done to Bo? She’s looking great. I’ll have what she’s having.”
Bo had approached Keith, tail wagging furiously and full of playful energy. She then escorted him through the shop like a happy puppy.
(Although my sample bottle had pills, the company has since changed it to a powder because it absorbs better, is customisable for individual needs, requires only one serving per day, and dogs love it sprinkled on their food.)
After months of resigning myself to never seeing her playful energy again, I watched in disbelief. Then I looked at the gray bottle and remembered the stranger. It was just another dumb supplement, wasn’t it? No, it had to be something special because of what I was witnessing with my own eyes.
Then I remembered what I had done with his business card.
I’m a law abiding citizen, so I’m not sure if my next step broke any laws, but I had to find the stranger for two reasons: First, to thank him and second to buy more gray bottles.
With his business card in a landfill and the gray bottle giving no clues except “EX-37,” all I knew was that he had purchased something. So I rummaged through past receipts and finally found his. He had paid with a credit card, and had therefore given me a signature. It was hard to read, but my husband and I came up with a few possible names. Then a few Google searches led us to a promising phone number, which I called and he answered.
His name was Kevin and yes, he remembered Bo. He was glad to hear that the pills worked but wasn’t surprised. He knew they'd work. He went on to explain that it worked to support mobility and maintain healthy joints for aging dogs.
I thanked him at least fifty times during the call, and we exchanged information. He arranged to send me a few more bottles of Extend™ for my sweet Bo.
I sincerely hope that my story helps you and your furry friend.