I don’t believe I will ever land a position as an obit writer. I don’t know that my mind will allow me to be only factual and to the point. Good news though, I have never applied for any such position nor am I likely any time soon….
Our Favorite Stray
Our Geyser Community has recently suffered yet another death of a beloved soul. Our friend can be described in so many ways. He was mostly quiet with an occasional outburst of discussion. He understood the moods and feelings of those around him with never a word uttered. He was affectionate. He was kind. He was many many things but mostly he was devoted to the members of this community.
While we never knew his true name or his lineage, many in our area gave him names. He was mostly commonly known as Doc and sometimes Wilson. Early on, I began talking about him as the neighbor dog and soon my nickname for him was Neighby. He answered to all of these names with a woof and a wag of his tail. In these last years, he was loved by nearly everyone in the whole community.
Sometimes during a funeral service, friends or family will share stories about the departed. I would like to do that today in honor of our friend:
My in-laws across the street used to have cute little painted caricatures tucked hither and thither around their yard. The then puppy delighted in ripping them out of the ground, chewing them into pieces and leaving sad remnants to be either picked up or mowed over. The final straw was the nativity scene! My in-laws became so incensed that rocks were thrown at the dog every time he came around. For a while after, he maintained a bit of a distance but always remained close by. When he got a bit older, he started going everywhere in town with Grampa & Gramma. He became a friend of the Senior Center and he never missed Sunday church-not ever, not once. They came to count on seeing him every morning.
As the years progressed and our own dog passed away, the Neighbor Dog remained vigilant to our family. Not only did he protect Grampa & Gramma, he also started attending sporting events. Baseball and football seemed to be his favorites as his soulful eyes and quiet demeanor always meant an accidentally dropped burger or a broken hotdog. Again, a woof and a wag were his way of being thankful.
Once, while I was working a long night of concessions, a terrible blizzard came through. The night came to a close and there, outside the front door of the school with about 4-5″ inches of snow on top of him was my Neighby. He could always be found waiting for one of the members of our family. His patience must have been phenomenal. Hours upon hours, he would wait. Once he would see us safely in the car, he b-lined it home and disappeared.
Years ago, I figured out how smart the dog really had to be. He was a stray and yet very well cared for. He spent nights in a warm porch at Vi Holland’s where she tended and spoiled him. He cut a now well-worn path through our yards to take up his place on Bud & Martha’s front step. Now, loving the dog, there were scraps and doggy treats aplenty. Most late afternoons were spent down at the bar and, I’m sure, more scraps and goodies for our friend, the stray. I packed home a doggy bag more than once…..
We’ve all had pets whom we’ve shed many tears over. I don’t know many communities though, with such a devoted character such as our Doc. He passed quietly at the end of November. He is buried close by -thank you Steve & Jerry. We ALL will miss our friend and we were ALL honored to be his very own.
