Death and dying at the dog park
When you take your pooch to the dog park, you tend to pay more attention to the other dogs than you do the people. It's not uncommon to know the name of someone's pet and not theirs. I'm sure more than a few people around town know me as "Rocket's Owner."
But when you're watching your dogs sniff and play and sometimes fight with each other, you pick up casual friendships with the folks there. You may have nothing else in common, but you share a love of dogs and you're a dedicated enough owner to go to the park in the first place.
So I probably know more about Maureen than I do her owner. She is about a year old now, is a brindle-colored bundle of energy. She's probably part pit bull, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. She likes to play more than any dog I've ever seen. Upon entering the park, she makes a straight line for the nearest dog and tackles it. Or she finds a toy to steal and runs around in circles taunting the other canines. She's even a bigger toy stealer than my dog.
The story around the San Pedro dog park is that her owner named her Maureen because that was his sister's name and he wanted to ensure that somebody took care of the dog if something ever happened to him.
It's a funny story and if it's true, it turned out to be prophetic. Last week I learned that Maureen's owner died.
Like I said, I didn't know much about him. I just knew him as John. He lived in a trailer somewhere. He had done a lot of traveling over the years and had spent time in Alaska, I believe in the oil industry. Apparently he had another dog that died, but that was before I met him.
Only after he died did I learn his last name. It's Ralph.
But he had a really good sense of humor and a really healthy attitude about dogs: He knew they were mostly stupid animals, but he took great pleasure in watching them interact.
"That is so interesting," he would often say as he watched dogs set up their hierarchies, or when they would all want the same toy because another dog expressed interest in it.
John had lung cancer, which I guess is what killed him, although he told me over the summer that he had beaten it.
Sometimes we pass through each other's lives in really small ways. John and I weren't friends, but I always enjoyed his company and always appreciated the way he interacted with Maureen, even when he was cussing her out for jumping.
I think John would be happy to know that his plan worked: After he died, Maureen the dog went to live with Maureen the human.
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
I would like to say how moved I was by your story about my brother and his dog, my namesake, Maureen. We have, in fact added Maureen to our family which includes our doggie, Chance (Olde English Bulldogge)and Toby (Irish Terrier mix) who have become Maureen's new "dog park" playmates and unwitting victim's. Maureen indeed is the quintesssential toy thief and tireless player. She is also probably the sweetest dog we have ever had and cannot get enough attention.
Her new family also includes an African grey and two lorikeet parrots and three generations of Desert Tortoises - none of which have yet become a Maureen dog toy.
John's devotion to Maureen was complete as he considered her to be his best friend from the time he met her, which is a story in itself.
After losing his last dog, Cha he felt a need to have a new companion and since I was visiting with him, he decided, quite spontaneously, that we should trek out to the Mohave desert to check out some puppies that he had learned of. When we arrived in the dark, the owner brought out two puppies and John asked me which one to select. The brindle coated Maureen was so cute as she sat there shivering in the night that she won our hearts and made the trip back to San Pedro.
The rest is history as the dog park became the most important part of her day and also provided John with perhaps the most satisfying part of his life. He absolutely loved the dog park and all of the people (and of course, the dogs) that he met there. There was never a conversation with John that did not include the dog park and Maureen. She was a constant companion and truly made his struggle with his treatments much easier to bear.
I thank you for all your kind thoughts at this very difficult time. John was a very unique individual who will be greatly missed by a lot of people but I will especially miss my big brother as I remember all of life's moments that we have shared.
-- From Maureen (the human)
Thank you for your article about John and Maureen. John and I were good friends. We met one day at the dog park on his 60th birthday, a day when I was thrilled to be alive, enjoying the simple pleasures of the park and my new dog, Beau. John came in and announced that today was his 60th birthday and that's it, life is over at 60. I told him he was wrong, I was 62 and had just completed 1 year and 9 months of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and my life wasn't over at 60, I was starting a new day with Beau and a gratitude and joy in my heart for a blue sky, a cool breeze, a wonderful park to visit. That day was the beginning of a long friendship talking about life, the beauty of simplicity, unconditional love of a dog, and how much we could learn from them. John was a really good man who struggled with life's complexities and yearned for goodness and God. He found a lot of comfort and answers at the park with people and dogs that we all love. Watching the dogs interact, learning a lot from them and their capacity to freely express joy, playfulness, even anger and annoyance one day and completely forget it the next day. John loved our dog park and the dogs and people he met there. Rest in peacem my dear friend, and know that Maureen is well cared for a loved by a sister who loves them both.
Very touching story. Thank you for sharing. God Bless John and his family.
Thank you for this article. It is truly a gift after my Father's passing. Complications from Lung Cancer ultimately took his life. He will be missed by his family and Maureen. We have a a memorial website for him and are asking for donations to the dog park in lieu of flowers. Here is the website:
http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/SearchSites.aspx
Thank you for this article. It is truly a gift after my Father's passing. Complications from Lung Cancer ultimately took his life. He will be missed by his family and Maureen. We have a a memorial website for him and are asking for donations to the dog park in lieu of flowers. Here is the website:
http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/SearchSites.aspx
wow..thats so sad (and weird) yesterday at the Park I was thinking that we have not seen Maureen in a while...she is always such a good whrestling partner for Scotty.Makes you think that you should make arrangements for your dogs at any age.........
Thank you for posting about Maureen's dad, as that's who he was to me. Maureen is indeed full of energy and very cute. May John rest in peace.