Good boy, Clyde

I met Clyde in 2002. He "guarded" the pickup truck while his partner, Joe, made his daily visit to the coffee shop. Joe always backed the truck in, so Clyde could keep an eye on him and flirt with passers-by. And could he ever flirt.

Clyde was a Golden Retriever/Yellow Lab mix, bred to be a helper dog. He flunked out of training school, and was sold as a pet, but he still had the empathy he was bred for. It was impossible to look at Clyde and not come over to pet him.

Clyde was always pleased when someone stopped to visit, and rewarded them with a lick of their wrist while they were petting him. He particularly loved little kids, and was so gentle with them that their instinctive fear of a big dog quickly turned into giggles. He became a Rock Star, and Joe had me print up wallet size "Love, Clyde" cards to hand out to his many admirers.

Joe began to worry about Clyde's advancing age a few years ago, so we arranged for a location photoshoot to preserve memories of him. Joe laundered his bandana for the occasion, and he looked quite handsome for an old boy of 10.

It turns out he had some skills I wasn't aware of. He was a talented crooner...

and when he wasn't in entertainment mode, he was a very credible watchdog.

But mostly, he liked hanging out with people... particularly Joe.

I visited the coffee shop the other day, and stopped by the truck to pay my respects. The bed was empty except for Clyde's leash and water bowl. I found Joe, and learned that Clyde has passed away a few days earlier. The way it happened, Clyde had been lying by the front door, but declined Joe's invitation to go out. Instead, he licked Joe's hand, and curled up for a nap. When Joe checked on him a little later, Clyde was gone.

I took this shot of Clyde a few weeks ago, never dreaming it would be the last one. Goodby, Clyde, you were always a good boy.

Thanks to Joe, Clyde had a long and comfortable life.  He lived well, was well loved, and passed peacefully.  What more could a mortal being wish for?