Astro showed up at my parent's house when I was still living at home. My Dad tried to chase him away by throwing rocks at him, but Astro was determined to make us his new family and he could tell Dad was a softy at heart. So, Astro moved in and quickly began raising hell in the neighborhood. Defending another dog, he took out a chunk of the neighbor's rotweiller. Dad got the $1000 vet bill. 

The next year, Elroy came along and the three of us moved to a new place. Astro loved his new yard but sometimes he'd escape and run around the neighborhood like a crazy man. He'd let me get within 5 feet of him and then take off for the next yard. 

We moved to Dallas a few years later and then to North Carolina where Astro got a "retirement pad" -- the best backyard ever. He chased squirrels and cats and barked incessantly. Nobody told him he was supposed to slow down in his retirement. A few years later, he made the move with us back to Dallas and stuck by me through law school. He gracefully gave up the retirement pad for a new place in the hood -- he'd bark at squirrels or criminals equally.

The last year or so, his age began to catch up with him. Instead of lunging maniacally at bicyclists on our walks, he'd sneak off for a rest behind a tree. And then the last few months he got sick and really slowed down. Sadly, we had to say goodbye on March 12. We buried him on my parents' property -- the same place we met him 13 years ago. Astro brought a lot of happy to the last 13 years and he is so missed.