Saturday, May 09, 2009

Goodbye to a good friend

Nobody loved kids more than Destry. When I was at the Post-Star in Glens Falls, part of my job was giving tours of the newspaper, and one Saturday, I did a day of tours for Boy Scouts. I didn't feel like leaving Destry home alone on what was going to be a hurry-up-and-wait sort of day, so I brought him along and he would wait in the car while I did a tour, and then I'd let him out during the 20 minutes or so while we waited for the next set of Scouts to show up.

But as they came in dribs and drabs, the earliest would end up playing with the dog, and I kept finding myself holding a leash that disappeared into a ball of Cub Scouts. He was delighted to be surrounded and patted and hugged and loved, and it was the beginning of his identity as a mascot, The Newshound, soon to be joined by Nellie Bly, who also loved kids.

I took him to trade shows where he would go three hours at a crack, gently standing while the tiniest kids all but climbed up on his back, and he'd have likely tolerated that, too.


Destry was the most infuriatingly absent-minded, distractable, foolish dog I have ever owned. But, as frustrating as it was to try to get him to keep up on a walk when he kept finding other things to examine, or to stand on the porch and call him and not even get a head-tilt of acknowledgement, or to try to persuade him to stop whining when he thought it was time to feed the dog and it most certainly was not, there was no way not to love such a kindly, gentle, affectionate knucklehead.

I only saw him lose his temper once. We were walking in a wooded park, when Nellie had first come to live with us. She was, to begin with, only a year old and, moreover, had spent most of her life in kennels as a showdog, surrounded by a half-dozen or more canine buddies, so she was used to a more rambunctious style and needed to be taught to walk off-leash but in control.

She was ranging up a little ahead of us, and we came around a corner and smack into a large German shepherd on a leash with a woman barely in control, shouting "Leash your dog! Leash your dog! He doesn't like other dogs!" The shepherd got away from her and lunged to attack Nell, but Destry was there in a flash, shouldering Nellie aside and taking the charge, then countering just as I caught up and we pulled them apart. He had a couple of puncture wounds, nothing serious, and I have no idea how the shepherd fared because we left. But as soon as the incident ended, he was calm and his old gentle self all over again.

This was striking because I had named him after the Jimmy Stewart character in "Destry Rides Again," the laid-back, calm sheriff who refused to carry guns but, in a memorable scene, demonstrated to some cowboys that he knew how to use a pair of six-guns very well indeed and did not intend to take any nonsense. And then went back to being laid-back and calm.

Nobody ever shied away from Destry, despite his size. Something in his face was so inviting that people naturally felt they could approach him, and he was always pleased to be patted, though he preferred that you not scratch his ears.

Here's how gentle he was: He'd happily play crash-and-dash games with other dogs, slamming into each other and tearing across a field. But the first time I tried to play a wrestling game with him as a pup, he began to cry, and I learned that he simply didn't understand and didn't want to rough house with people. For a breed that is bred to hunt lions, he was remarkably unferocious.


You have noted, of course, that I am speaking of him in the past tense. Friday, I had the privilege of performing a last act of love for this gentle, foolish old dog, whose hips had begun to fail him and who was in real danger of a painful breakdown. He'd have been 12 years old next month, an extraordinary age for a large dog like this, but it was time, and to avoid the decision would have been indulging me, not serving him.

I'll never know a more kindly dog. "Kindly" is an old-fashioned word that doesn't come up much anymore, but he was a kindly dog.







And wherever he goes, I hope there are plenty of kids.











And no dinosaurs. Definitely no dinosaurs.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear this, Mike. :(

Niece Kim

Anonymous said...

Big hugs from Norwich.

Sarah

Uncle Jed said...

I held it together until the "no dinosaurs" part, you know what they say about the last 4 feet of the tightrope.

The kids had a big long cry today, he is survived by an enormous fan club.

Sherwood Harrington said...

'Bye, Destry. 'Bye.

You've been anticipating this for a while, Mike, but I don't suppose that makes things any easier. This was a very fine tribute.

richardcthompson said...

My condolences, Mike. Yes that was a very fine tribute.

Ronnie said...

What can I say, Mike. He was such a sweetheart. I loved his visits to grandma and it was clear that he loved them too, lying in the grass gnawing on a bone, hunting the dogfood you scattered in the yard, eating the raspberries off the bushes, taking up the entire living room floor when he relaxed, gazing at me with his head on my knees --- a dear dear friend ---

Mom

Anonymous said...

A lovely tribute, so sorry to hear about this. Michelle via London

Nostalgic for the Pleistocene said...

A wonderful farewell to an amazing guy. Wow. 12 years. Probably 12 extremely happy years, which is why he enjoyed so many.

ronnie said...

Awww, Mike, I am so sorry. I'm just so happy that I had the opportunity to meet this very special guy. He was indeed a gentle giant. Bless you for doing right by him. He had from all accounts an incredibly happy life.

Brian Fies said...

There's nothing better than a well-loved dog who loves you even more in return. I'm sorry you lost him, Mike, but I'm glad you had him.

WVFran said...

...and I love all the photos...reminders of a gentle soul.

Dann said...

Sorry to hear about your loss, Mike. With any luck, he's got lots of new fields to explore and new smells to investigate.

Jason Togyer said...

A wonderful tribute to a fine dog, Deacon, and I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Mary Miller said...

Saw the openning on Facebook and had to come here to read the whole tribute. I'm sitting here sobbing. You did the noble thing but I'm sure it wasn't easy!

Mary

Mike Peterson said...

Thanks, all. We take on these guys knowing the time will come, but it's never easy. But each one leaves us a little different for the experience, and it's worth it.

Anonymous said...

Mike,
So sorry to hear of your loss... I too was privleged to love a RR much like your Destry. He passed in Feb at 9 yo. I wish you peace and comfort as you remember your friend.

Assegai MC said...

Sorry to hear about Des, hope you and Zee are holding together
Melissa

Esther Garvi said...

What a beautiful tribute!! It's tough how we miss them, yet so grateful for the years we spent together...