May 31 1989 —- Sept. 24 2001
Black Labrador Retriever
” Testament To A Friend “
Bilbo entered this world on May 31 1989 to a friend of ours, breeder Renee Zinger.
Bilbo was one of a litter of ten incredibly cute Black Labrador Retrievers.
Bilbo lived with Renee for close to three months until September 22 1989
when Renee offered us one of her four remaining pups.
Ginger myself Corey and Shannon went to her house to pick up our pup.
Of course with four adorable lab pups to choose from we were having
an extremely tough time choosing only one.
As Ginger and the kids were playing with the pups I was standing
off to the side. When I looked down sitting between my legs and
looking up at me with the biggest brown eyes was our soon to
be newest family member saying “Here I am.
I’m the one you want. Please take me home with you.”
At that moment Bilbo became the newest member of the Nee family.
Bilbo would soon take on the official name of Bilbo Baggins
of Hobbittland named after the main character of J. R. Tolkeins Trilogy
and soon to be movie “The Lord of the Rings”.
I know Bilbo is very upset that he will not get to see this movie.
He was really looking forward to seeing and meeting his namesake.
Throughout the years Bilbo was known by various other names to
us including: Bill Billy the Dog Mr. Bill Himself Good Dog
and even sometimes “Bad Dog”.
In his over twelve years with us Bilbo was a true and loyal friend.
As a pup he had a fetish (or maybe I should say appetite) for
Shannon’s leather dancing shoes. Every time Shannon would leave
her shoes lying around Bilbo would make her pay dearly for it by
chewing and eating them. We lost track at about three pairs.
Bilbo continued this fetish even into adulthood.
But then rather than destroying them he would carry them
around in his mouth and prance proudly around the house with
them every time we returned.
In a pinch Bilbo would often substitute a pair of dirty underwear,
a dirty sock or even a bra from the laundry room if there wasn’t
a shoe nearby. Bilbo also had a “thing” for garbage.
He firmly believed that there was something good in every bag
of garbage if you only looked hard enough for it.
And he did this quite often while spreading it throughout the house.
Bilbo never met a garbage can he couldn’t defeat.
Bilbo quickly moved up the ladder at the Nee Household to become
“Head of Security:”
Bilbo was in charge of the safety of the house and it’s occupants.
A challenge he took on wholeheartedly. Bilbo never slept at night,
for he was always on duty. He would lie at the bottom of the bed
all night long with his eyes closed making you think he was sleeping.
Actually he was in “Stealth Mode” constantly scanning the perimeter
of the house for intruders and the ever-present terrorist.
This is when his security duties would start.
Bilbo was very proud of the fact that in his twelve years on duty
Ginger never lost her feet at night to intruders or even had them attacked.
The fact that our house was never broken into on his shift as
Head of Security is a tribute to his expertise in this field.
Bilbo had a few favorite sayings which he used with us constantly.
One of his favorites was “Move your head lose your bed”.
If either of us ever got up out of bed during the night you could
rest assured that Bill would be on your side of the bed and on
your pillows when you returned.
Not only would he take over your spot but also he would
refuse to give it up.
This would eventually end up in a tug of war for “bed rights”.
Bill usually won these battles. Bill seemed to know when it was
our bedtime even before we did. He often would beat Ginger and
I to the bedroom and jump up onto the bed before we could.
If on occasion we would beat him into the bed Bill would jump up onto
the waterbed and snuggle up in between his “mother and father”.
He would never lie on the side of either of us- he had to be
between us at all times and of course he had to have his pillows.
This was his bonding time. He would lay here for no more
than half an hour most of the time with his head resting on Dad’s shoulder.
Finally he would move on down to the bottom of the bed on Ginger’s
side and begin his security duties in his famous “Stealth Mode”.
Along these same lines Bill would often question his being a
Labrador retriever. We often referred to him as our “Laprador Retriever”
seeing that he liked to curl his 85 pounds on your lap in the
recliner while watching television.
Bilbo really seemed to enjoy the material comforts of life.
Over the years Bilbo became deeply involved in anti-terrorist
activities.
Bilbo often worked with the FBI and CIA in tracking and
apprehending known and unknown terrorists.
Bilbo was our very own Anti-terrorist dog.
He lent his time during the day while we were at work
to the training of the various police and search dogs employed
by the numerous government agencies in this country.
I am sure that this is why he would always seem so tired when
we came home him having worked so hard all day after being
up all night on guard duty. Just the night before the terrible bombing
of the twin towers in New York Bilbo sat in our living room and
continuously barked (spoke) to us trying to warn us.
Unfortunately we were not able to understand his warnings.
Bilbo was very proud of the fact that in his twelve years with us
there was not a single terrorist attack on our house or even the
Borough of Plum a true testament to his dedication and resolve.
Bilbo would spend countless afternoons on the computer going
on-line and tracking terrorist activities for the FBI CIA and
other covert government agencies.
There was also a lighter side to Bilbo.
It wasn’t always work and no play. Bilbo was a world traveler
and being a true Hobbitt loved adventures.
In his younger days he even thought he was Houdini the second
the great escape artist. He would constantly check the gates
in the back yard and somehow would figure out a way to escape
and go on trips to destinations unknown.
Upon his return he seldom let us know where he had been.
I suppose if he told us he would have had to kill us!
We could only guess and speculate about his great escapades
whether he was off chasing wild four legged female dogs or
chasing terrorists from the neighborhood.
Bilbo also always pestered us for a pet of his very own.
He wanted a small monkey which he could take for rides
and teach him to open refrigerator and cabinet doors so he
could help himself to his favorite foods.
This was one request we didn’t give into much to his dismay.
Bilbo also considered himself a great singer as those who have
attended our family birthday parties can attest to.
Bilbo loved to sing along to our poorly sung renditions of
“Happy Birthday”.
He really considered himself to be the life of the party.
Bilbo was also a first class Beggar especially at these parties
where the foods and snacks flowed freely.
If you snuck food to Bilbo he would be your friend for life
or at least till the next party. M&M’s bread licorice and
milk bones had to be kept under lock and key when Bill was around
or they would soon be gone bag and all.
He was also a world champion fly fisherman.
We would buy Swedish Fish and Bilbo would sit across the living room
while we threw the “flying” fish into the air for him to catch.
He seldom missed.
Part of Bilbo’s duty was food and cookie tester for Ginger.
Bill considered this to be hazardous duty but being the dog he
was he did it without complaining.
Of course Bilbo had his favorite foods.
These would include just about anything that he saw someone
else eating. Everything seemed to be his favorite.
Not a meal went by without either Ginger or
I saying,” This is Bill’s favorite”.
Everything we ate seemed to be Bill’s favorite food at that time.
Bilbo also had a thing for Ice Cream.
It seems Bilbo discovered that ice cream was a cure-all for
all kinds of ailments from headaches to the various diseases
he contracted during his anti-terrorists activities
ie. Malaria Anthrax and Ebola.
Bilbo had many friends who will miss him dearly.
He loved his “brother” Corey and looked forward to his returning
home and making a fuss over him.
Our neighbor Ron who would always visit with him when
Bill was sitting in the front lawn.
I will always remember them rolling around in the front yard
playing together. Ed who is our next-door neighbor and
his “Rat” dog Rudy. Then there was his Labrador buddy Riley
with whom he had legendary drooling and urinating contests.
There was also Nikki the neighborhood femme fatale whom Bill
would sit on the side of the back yard and lust after for hours on end.
Of course there was always his sidekick Pippen our Golden Retriever,
who Bill always blamed for getting into the garbage or eating
the bread or M&M’s.
Bill often asked for his own Polaroid camera to catch her in the act
and prove his own innocence just like on the TV commercial.
On Monday September 24 2001 Bilbo left this world but he
will never leave our hearts.
For you see Bilbo was not just a dog.
He was truly our friend and a loyal member of our family who
will be sorely missed and remembered in our thoughts
and prayers forever.
He gave his love to us unconditionally and we gave ours
back in return. We are sure he has gone to a place where he
have passed on before him: Mikey Gandalf and Missey.
I don’t know if there is a heaven for dogs
but if there is I am sure they are there waiting for us to all
to be reunited as a family sometime
in the future.
| Bilbo |