Dandy Lion : 2000 - 2009

DANDY LION

23^rd August 2009

Dandy passed peacefully this afternoon after a long bout with "everything." I just came in from burying him facing the desert sunrise. He was at least 9 yrs. old, possibly more. I've had him since March '04. He was the first dog I adopted after my devastating fire and for the first 5 months, he thought he was my only dog, until my 4 survivors arrived back from foster care after 5 months. From then on, he still thought he was my only dog. He went everywhere with me; he wasn't a "dog," he was an "accessory." He meant everything to me.

His nickname was "Schnickelfritz," given to him by a 90 yr. old Alzheimer’s patient who loved him. I named him Dandy Lion, because he was a dandy who thought he was a lion. I'd only had him a short time when he went up to a 90 lb. neighbour's dog; the dog shook him like a rat, gave him a concussion and broke four ribs. That made the little genius pursue other dogs even more vigorously. I've laughed these past several weeks because KoKo, the wolf-hybrid I recently adopted, would try to play with Dandy, who'd lose his temper and chase off KoKo.

I'm going to "unplug" my life for a while, go float in my pool where the tears will wash away. I know you all know what this feels like. This is the fifth loss for me this year. (Thankfully the rest are younger and completely healthy.) But this was also a particularly hard loss. As much as we try to not show favouritism, me - the wolf and big dog guy - adored that demanding bit of cantankerous fluff as much as humanly possible.

Attached is Dandy pictured in the animal control shelter on death row before I adopted him. He'd been found wandering the streets and bit the AC officer. And then with me the first spring, in a field of his namesakes. That is how I will always remember him.

 Jim Willis

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