29 Aug 2015 An important 'mess'

Story and photos
by Callie Sterling

The saying, “A dog is a girl’s best friend” rings true in the Bray family, especially when Destiny Bray’s husband, Buck, is deployed with the Army National Guard. Beau, a 3-year-old Labrador Retriever, helps by providing stability to Bray and her son, Bryson. Beau has a special relationship with each of the Bray family members.

“During deployments we were told to have things that are constant in Bryson’s life to help him feel more stable,” Destiny said. “Beau was definitely one of those constants for us.”

Beau has been a member of the Bray family since before Bryson was born on Jan. 15, 2013.

“Beau has been with us since Bryson was born, and they have such a special bond,” Destiny said. “Truly like brothers. We got him when he was 6 weeks old. He was a surprise from Buck after my glucose test when I was 26 weeks pregnant with Bryson.”

Buck was deployed for nine months in Kuwait. During his deployment, Beau looked after the family.

“He always slept in his dog house until Buck left for deployment,” Destiny said. “It is like somehow he knew he was gone because immediately Beau started sleeping on the front porch — right in front of the door, like he was there to protect us.”

In addition to protecting the Bray family, Beau helped comfort them while they were separated from Buck.

“He definitely helped ease our loneliness while Buck was gone,” Destiny said. “He meets us at the door every morning. Bryson has to give him a treat first thing in the morning before he eats his own breakfast.”

Destiny feels that all kids should have pets.

“I think kids should have pets because they are great companions and in our case, Bryson’s first best friend,” Destiny said.

Beau is loving, sweet and enjoys attention from his family.

“Beau enjoys loving on us,” Destiny said. “He gives hugs like a human and jumps up and wraps his arms around you. He literally won’t let go until you hug him back.”

Beau occasionally serves as comical entertainment for the Bray family.

“Sometimes he can be so hilarious,” Destiny said. “Last time we had his photograph taken he decided to army crawl and refused to walk during the photography session. He is a mess but an important member of our family.”