Dec. 25 1994 —- Dec. 11 2001
Our family dog Marshall was struck by a car this afternoon in
front of our house and died shortly thereafter.
We think he pulled himself to the house and died beneath
Andie’s bedroom window.
He’d gotten past Andie several minutes earlier as she
was opening the door for a delivery man.
Some motorists saw the accident and came
to the door to tell Donna.
Despite all our training and precautions this guy loved to explore —
maybe as a throwback to his wild days as a stray in
downtown Los Angeles. He was rescued by a friend and colleague where
John works and lived for a short time with another colleague
before we adopted him.
Marshall even though he was a seven-year-old adult was ever the puppy,
constantly excited and excitable — if Milk Bone ever came out with
ritalin dog biscuits he would have been a great test subject.
He stalked mice in our garage (sometimes successfully) squirrels in
our back yard (never caught one) and was a constant companion on
our vacation trips including one year when we flew
back to Illinois.
When Donna and Andie — his favorites — were away he lay down on
a pile of laundry and slept awaiting their return.
When the car pulled into the drive he’d do a couple of victory laps
around the yard in sheer joy.
He knew the sound of Andie’s school bus’s brakes and bolted for the
front door to see her off each morning and to welcome her
back each afternoon. He even got excited when the phone rang and
went nuts when somebody was at the door.
Potential intruders might have been intimidated by his bark
but those who knew him including delivery men
knew he just wanted to play and be petted.
We mourn Marshall tonight.
He joins the pantheon of Bryan pets —
Attila the Hun and her daughter Baskin —
all of whom gave us far far more then they took.
Andie
| Marshall |