The perfect way to slow your pace

[Diane Amberg]

  I like that "senility" prayer. How perfect!

[kdfrawg]

The dog that Russell credited with his sobriety died before Russell did. He was named Warden, so that Russell could finally boss around the warden, and he was the kindest, gentlest dog I have ever known. Warden had a heart attack while we were all playing in the park one evening. The vet came over saw his blue lips and gums, and said there was nothing she could do. Russell simply could not watch. He took the other dogs and went out to the ocean to spend the night.

I slept on the family room floor with Warden, very fitfully, while his breathing just got slower and slower. He finally gave a little shudder and he was gone. But you have to remember that Warden was a dog who could crack whole walnuts and pick them carefully apart with his teeth, getting out complete half nuts. He was also the dog that, when given a McDonald's hamburger, would carefully unwrap it on the ground, give the top bun to his glutton friend BJ (who had already wolfed down his burger practically whole), take the meat patty off the bun and lay it on the wrapper, then give the bottom bun to BJ. Finally, he would carefully eat his meat patty. There is a lot more, but this is undoubtedly getting boring for you.

The most important thing about Warden is that his love and devotion gave Russell reason not to drink.

[Teresa]

Seems to me that Russell had some angel wings under that gentle spirit.
I loved the stories of what Russell did. If you have more..share them..please.
((To take each section of bun off and gently share with his buddy..... How awesome is that!))
I am never short of amazed at how smart our 4 legged friends are and what they "teach themselves"..
and in the process what they teach us.

[Wilma]

Frawgie, why don't you put this on "Cute and Clever Pets" and give us more about Warden?

[Rudy Taylor]

Kermit, I really didn't any more warming today, but darn it ... you warmed my heart again
with your story about Russell.

[kdfrawg]

Russell was a walking heartwarming story in his own right. I was after him for years to write down the story of his life so that I could clean it up as a ghost writer. We already had a title: You Can't Blow Up Bing Crosby! But I can tell you, book or no book, that Russell had himself some adventures in those long, lost years.

He even had a great adventure when he died. He once got thrown out of a public park on the Bay in San Mateo County because he had his dog there, off the leash. He had Warden cremated after he died and took his ashes to that park little by little so what was left of Warden could spend eternity there. He made me promise that I would take him to join his dog. Anyone who has ever seen The Great Escape will know how I added Russell's ashes to Warden's in that park.

Speaking of warming in the other sense, the heat index here is 106.

[Rudy Taylor]

Exactly the same here!

[Diane Amberg]

  Rudy, the temperature or your ashes?

[kdfrawg]

I didn't even know that Rudy knew Warden!

[Janet Harrington]

I am never short of amazed ...

Ain't that the truth?