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Said goodbye to a buddy today.
Rack Ops
Member Posts: 18,596 ✭✭✭
I guess he was supposed to be my replacement.
I was 17, and had just left home for boot camp. In one of the first letters I got from home, mom told me that she had found an abandoned puppy when she was out for a walk. He was half starved, ate up with fleas and worms. She found him huddled under a trailer that had previously been occupied by people we suspected were meth cookers who had mysteriously disappeared one day.
She took him home, doctored him up, and decided to keep him. She said that he was very friendly with her and our other dog.....but meaner than a snake with anyone else. She named him "Leroy Brown" and he remains the only dog I ever met with his own last name [:)].
For those first few years, I only saw Leroy when I was home on leave....and there were always stories mom would share. Leroy was the ultimate bad dog...he destroyed furniture in the house, he chased cars. He fought other dogs......When my mom moved to a new house, there was a family of ducks had nested in a creek bed nearby. Leroy killed all of them. I begged her to take him to obedience school before someone shot him, but he was her baby and could do no wrong.
He lived hard....took his share of abuse too. He was hit by the cars he chased....he was tore up by the animals he fought. And he never stopped. I distinctly remember watching him hobbling forward on three legs, from an injury I can't remember, seeking battle with a neighbor dog that had dared to intrude upon his domain. That dog had obviously met Leroy before and ran like hell long before things got ugly.
He mellowed with age, as I suppose all of us do....but he still considered himself King of all he surveyed. He would sit perched on a table mom put on her deck, just waiting. Suddenly, like a gunshot he would launch himself off the deck and up the hill into the woods....chasing what, I have no idea. 10 or 15 minutes later he'd come trotting back, obviously pleased with himself. He did this even as the years passed by. We called him the "ageless wonder" and swore he would outlive all of us.
Leroy turned 15 last summer and age was finally starting to show. He had greyed up considerably and could most often be found napping on the deck.
Mom called me this afternoon to tell me that Leroy had quietly died in his sleep. She asked me to bury him. I did so this evening...ironically the prettiest day we have had this year. I lowered him into the clay knowing that there will never be another like him.....and that's probably a good thing.
Leroy wasn't a good dog but he was like family, especially to mom, and I'm going to miss him.
I was 17, and had just left home for boot camp. In one of the first letters I got from home, mom told me that she had found an abandoned puppy when she was out for a walk. He was half starved, ate up with fleas and worms. She found him huddled under a trailer that had previously been occupied by people we suspected were meth cookers who had mysteriously disappeared one day.
She took him home, doctored him up, and decided to keep him. She said that he was very friendly with her and our other dog.....but meaner than a snake with anyone else. She named him "Leroy Brown" and he remains the only dog I ever met with his own last name [:)].
For those first few years, I only saw Leroy when I was home on leave....and there were always stories mom would share. Leroy was the ultimate bad dog...he destroyed furniture in the house, he chased cars. He fought other dogs......When my mom moved to a new house, there was a family of ducks had nested in a creek bed nearby. Leroy killed all of them. I begged her to take him to obedience school before someone shot him, but he was her baby and could do no wrong.
He lived hard....took his share of abuse too. He was hit by the cars he chased....he was tore up by the animals he fought. And he never stopped. I distinctly remember watching him hobbling forward on three legs, from an injury I can't remember, seeking battle with a neighbor dog that had dared to intrude upon his domain. That dog had obviously met Leroy before and ran like hell long before things got ugly.
He mellowed with age, as I suppose all of us do....but he still considered himself King of all he surveyed. He would sit perched on a table mom put on her deck, just waiting. Suddenly, like a gunshot he would launch himself off the deck and up the hill into the woods....chasing what, I have no idea. 10 or 15 minutes later he'd come trotting back, obviously pleased with himself. He did this even as the years passed by. We called him the "ageless wonder" and swore he would outlive all of us.
Leroy turned 15 last summer and age was finally starting to show. He had greyed up considerably and could most often be found napping on the deck.
Mom called me this afternoon to tell me that Leroy had quietly died in his sleep. She asked me to bury him. I did so this evening...ironically the prettiest day we have had this year. I lowered him into the clay knowing that there will never be another like him.....and that's probably a good thing.
Leroy wasn't a good dog but he was like family, especially to mom, and I'm going to miss him.
Comments
Sorry for y'all's loss.
Nice story. Sorry for your loss. Sounds like he had quite a personality.
You have no idea.
Mom had ordered something online and had it shipped to the house. It never showed up. She called the local UPS facility to see what happened to it. The guy looked up the package and said it had been delivered, and it had even been signed for. Mom insisted that she hadn't signed for anything. The guy pulled up the signature and said it had been signed for by a "Mr. Brown". Mom asked if the first name was Leroy. The guy said it looked like it might be......Well, mom couldn't stop laughing, told the guy that Leroy Brown was a dog and ended up hanging up on him.
We never did find that package... [:)]
by the way would you do the write up when I pass ,
I felt like I was there watching ol Leroy on the table jumping off and running into the woods,
Rest in Peace, Leroy Brown.
Jon
I've prayed so many times that one of my four legged friends could quietly pass to Rainbow Bridge while peacefully asleep. I envy you.
Unfortunately it appears that my Master somehow thinks that He needs me to become a stronger and better person. The result being that my hand seems always necessary in the passing of a beloved friend.
Very painful this burden, however it taught me how to accept the passing of my parents and that death is often a blessing. And so we live on and remember. In so doing we hope and pray for Rainbow Bridge with faith that we'll meet our friends once again.
God Speed LeRoy Brown. You done good!
I know I felt a lot better after writing it.
Thanks for taking the time to look at it.
Being a dog is no reason not to eulogize. Most dogs are better than we humans.
A true friend is hard to lose.
Thanks for the kind words, guys. It seems strange to eulogize a dog....but a creature who spent almost 16 years as a part of our family deserved *something* in remembrance.
I know I felt a lot better after writing it.
Thanks for taking the time to look at it.
Nothing at all strange about a eulogy for a dog. I rather admire folks that do.
Sorry for your family's loss, sounds like he was quite a character.