03/28/2026
As many of you know our sweet boy Boomer passed away last month. Kristopher and I both wanted to share a goodbye. He was a big part of the Creed family and many of your dogs’ lives when they were with us.
From Kristopher:
Boomer - The goodbye you deserve.
I really don’t know where to start. It’s been 32 days since we lost you and not a single day has gone by where our family didn’t talk about you, cry, or mistake a black figure in the corner of our eye as you. We all really miss you a lot, buddy.
When we went to the shelter twelve plus years ago in hopes of getting you as a six month old puppy we were disappointed when we didn’t get to bring you home. There was a lot of interest and someone else won a drawing. We decided to say hi to you anyway before leaving and fell in love immediately. I left our information in case you were returned but didn’t have much hope. A week later they called and told us Boomer (mojo at the time) was back and ours if we wanted him. It was one of the funnest days of my life. I had been wanting a black dog to replace my childhood lab for a long time and Sadie needed a friend. The next few years before we got married you bounced back and forth between our houses and apartments with multiple moves. You were always excited for the next adventure. It didn’t matter if you lived in an apartment or on a 35 acre ranch, you always seemed to thrive as long as you were by our side and had your girl Sadie close by.
For the next twelve plus years you spent every day, every memory, every tragedy with us. For the past nine years I’ve worked from home with you by my side. All morning, all day, all night. My best friend. I’ll never forget how excited I was to see you and Sadie after a Friday night football win, and even more after a loss. The countless all-nighters were always a little easier with you right beside me. There was never a moment in our home when you weren’t right there with us. Never in the way, never making a sound, just quietly lying and watching us. You welcomed every dog that joined our family like a new best friend and greeted every dog we boarded as they walked through the door the same way. You played with, snuggled, and loved every single one. The day we lost you Kondi came running inside looking for you like she always did. She was obsessed with you from the day she was born, always seeing you as her dad. She was so sweet to you in your final days, giving you a goodbye that made us all cry. I know she misses you too and would love to lick your face and lay on top of you just one more time.
Although you were always “my dog” we quite quickly learned Kalyssa was your number one. What I loved most about you is how you protected her and our family. From day one you were Kalyssa’s guardian, physically shielding other dogs away from her. Once the kids were born they became your priority and there was never a bedtime story, bath, board game, or outside play session that you weren’t right in the middle of. You loved Kalyssa and I but those kids became your kids and it was the most beautiful thing to watch. When we were saying our goodbyes Reagan said “I wish it could be his first day as a puppy again.” Our girl loved you so much buddy and she hasn’t stopped talking about you yet. You were her favorite dog.
When we found out you were sick Kalyssa and I were equally devastated but it was the week before Christmas and we didn’t want the kids to know. We were able to hide it from them until the night before you passed. You were such a strong boy for our kids and held on so long to spend some amazing days with us. We will always be grateful you gave us one last birthday with each of us, one more family Christmas with a Boomer stocking, and “gotcha day” number twelve. A friend text me after you passed something very simple but it was exactly why this has been so hard. “He was your boy and he was awesome.” That sums it up perfectly. There will never be another dog like you buddy, and I’ll be counting down the days until I get one of those great big Boomie hugs we all loved so much. Rest easy big guy, we’ve got it from here.
From Kalyssa:
One month ago we lost the best dog we could have ever asked for.
He was a literal constant in our lives for 12 years and even with a life filled with dogs, this month has felt so empty without him.
When Sadie was about to be two, we started talking about getting another dog. Kristopher wanted a black dog like his childhood dog, Malcolm, so we always kept our eye out for black labs and rescue dogs that came available. In January of 2014 we saw the cutest picture of a little flat-coated retriever puppy at the shelter who was found as a stray. We went to see him first thing the next day, and in the waiting room of the shelter 11 families put their name in a hat to try to get him, without even getting to meet him. Someone else’s name was drawn and we were so sad. We walked through to see if there were any other dogs that might be a good fit and saw him for the first time. He smelled TERRIBLE but his eyes were so kind and he was just the sweetest little puppy. In typical Kristopher fashion when he gets attached to something - he couldn’t let it go and asked the girl at the front desk to take our name and number down in case he was returned to the shelter again. She literally told him he was crazy and no one had ever done that before.
Three days later she called me early in the morning asking what we knew that they didn’t, and an hour later “Mojo” was ours.
We renamed him Boomer, Sadie HATED him, and after a few nights of him barking and chewing and realizing why the first person returned him to the shelter, I remember crying to my mom that it was a huge mistake and didn’t think we could handle two dogs (haha).
But he quickly grew into the sweetest dog of all time. He did bunny hops at the door when it was time to go out. He laid on the bathroom floor next to me every morning when I got ready. Loved to ride everywhere with Kristopher. He was protective over all of us and always put himself in between us and any dog or person he didn’t trust. He became Sadie’s other half and they were inseparable. He loved a window sill to rest his head on to look out the window for hours. At bedtime he’d sit, put his paws on my shoulders and rest his forehead on mine. His coolest trick to show off was to “pray”; he would put his paws on our forearm and his head between his front legs. We did his genetic testing and found out he wasn’t a flat-coated retriever, he was a mix of golden retriever, lab, border collie, Rottweiler and boxer, and he had the best traits of all of them. Happy all the time, so smart and intuitive, protective, and just such a lover.
Fast forward through our masters’ graduations, engagement, wedding, moving multiple times, changing careers and the birth of our kids, we got to see him become Reagan and Skyler’s best friend, too. He followed them everywhere, inside and outside. Let them crawl all over him, pull his hair and ears. Stayed parked under their high chairs at every meal. He was truly the best boy for all four of us until the very end.
Twelve years wasn’t nearly enough, but what a gift it was.
We love you forever, Boomie 🖤🐾
Please hug your pups a little tighter tonight for us and cherish all the sweet memories you make together 🖤
