COEUR d’ALENE – Larry Greenfelder lovingly caressed his dog’s head and neck as the veterinarian examined her. The Vietnam veteran exchanged glances with his 8-year-old black lab Boo Boo, reassuring her that Dr. Bruce King was not going to take the rawhide she refused to release from her teeth.
Her eyes said she believed him, but she still wouldn’t let it go. Not until the nail clippers were visible.
“She is one of the best dogs,” Greenfelder said, patting the 106-pound dog. He has had Boo Boo since she was about a year old.
Greenfelder is a man of thin frame with a short, gray beard, a man who has seen war and troubled times. He served in the Navy for nine years and was deployed to Vietnam for two six-month tours, where he earned medals such as the Combat Action Ribbon and the Meritorious Unit Citation.