A note from Stan's sister today brought the sad news. The little dog with the big underbite who was so much a part of their lives has ended his stay. We are so sorry for the loss. We enjoyed JD when Sosie and Bill came to visit us in Arizona this winter; we knew then it could be his last adventure. Here's Sosie's note to friends and family:
JD left us peacefully, held in Bill's arms and gently assisted by Dr. Teare. JD had a good life, and gave us more joy and years than we could have expected. We will miss his little patter of paws across the floors and his enthusiastic greeting each time we return home.What a blessing that science could spare him the last days of overworking his enlarged heart and flooded lungs, and allow his body to leave at the same time his joyful soul left.
JD leaves us with a fine store of memories. My favorite stories are of raccoon and bobcat, for they tell of his unpredictably vigorous enthusiasm for life and lack of recognition for his small size. He ripped through our deer fence to chase a bobcat up a tree, and then barked furiously at the bobcat just feet above him. I didn't dare look but once at the hissing bobcat while I sneaked in to grab JD and get away with both our lives.
Another serene morning, JD and I returned from our morning walk, and I leisurely watered a few plants before leaving for work. JD did his own morning inspection of the garden, and it led him to cornering a huge raccoon under our deck. The sounds from under the deck were horrifying, and my pounding on the deck and pouring water through the boards did nothing to quell the standoff. I ripped off lath, tossed off decorator rocks, and wriggled through a 12 inch by 14 inch opening to crawl across 30 feet of mud, spiders, and you can imagine what, dressed for work. I hoped to either beat the raccoon with my flashlight or pull JD to safety. And what did JD do? Barked "thanks for the reinforcements! I'll go round up some more raccoons."
Some messy time later, JD and I crawled out safely, me pulling him, and he barking warnings to all the raccoons. Bill's comment to my story that evening? "You didn't have to rip off the lath. It was screwed in. You could have unscrewed it." He survived too.
I expect Bill's favorite memories are of JD bounding pell-mell down the stairs to greet him, no matter how long Bill had been away. Maybe the time Bill and JD waited for me on a street corner in Santa Barbara, and woman after woman came to fuss over them. That's when JD added "Date Bait" to his list of expertise.
Bill admired JD's patience with his Doggles or wearing his "Barking for Barack" t-shirt even though he wasn't that political, or his "I don't FaLaLa for nobody" t-shirt to reflect Bill's droll view of winter cheer. JD was Bill's willing companion on many a trip to the hardware store, or wherever, what do I know? They only smiled and answered my questions with an "oh, we went to drink beer and chase women."Zach too has his memories of JD, for JD is actually his dog. JD was given to Zach in his first year of college. JD was a found dog, of Shiz Tzu, terrier, and chihuahua lineage. We proudly boasted this made JD "Three Dogs in One, What a Bargain."
In his second year of college, Zach's apartment did not allow dogs. We said we'd care for JD until Zach found housing that did allow dogs. We never stopped caring. Eventually Zach did get housing, even his own house and yard, for JD. A paternity suit loomed. I begged Zach, "Please, don't make me choose between you and Bill. You can have all the visiting rights you want."
Dear Zachary relented and maturely accepted the inevitable, but was often heard to mumble, "You never treated me as well as you treat JD." Indeed, it is written in brick, down at the Sunol kiosk. Our brick reads: The Shearer Family / Solveig and Bill / Zachary and/or JD.
JD, we all look forward to seeing you somewhere over the rainbow. We will remember you.
