A chapter has closed.

Last night my best friend Dan called to inform me that Zeke has passed away. Since the beginning of our friendship it has always been Dan and Zeke. Dan and I met through our dogs. I had a Chocolate Lab puppy and Dan had a 2 year old Akita named Zeke. Dan was kind enough to loan me a book on how to raise a well behaved puppy and Hershey my chocolate lab pup had me return it with the cover having been mostly chewed off. We quickly formed a fast friendship and since then it has always been Dan and Zeke and Adriaan and Hershey. Sadly two years ago my chocolate lab died. However the passing of Hershey affected me less than the passing of Zeke. When I got off the phone with Dan ( who was a lot more prepared than I was) I actually cried. I have been blessed with the kind of friendship with Dan that has surpassed any other friendship that I have ever had. My best memories of my twentysomethings all contain Dan and Zeke.

From Zeke trying to lick the milk shake from out of Maritza's mouth, Zeke allowing me to sneak into Dan's bedroom partially dressed while Dan was asleep so that I could steel a pair of socks. To Zeke standing guard over Hershey at 6 months in Prospect Park so that other dogs could not go near him.

I believe that it is because of our dogs that our friendship bloomed into what it is today. I think that I can truly say that it is because of Zeke that Dan is my brother, that without Zeke I would not have met my wife who in turn has blessed me with the most amazing son and through this marriage has freed me from the grips of New York to live out here in lovely Western Mass.

If one were to look for an example of a dog truly being a man's best friend. I would then suggest that anyone who was blessed with being a friend of Dan's look back at all the memories that you have with him since Zeke and see how intertwined Dan and Zeke were in all of that.

I will truly miss you my friend.

I hope that where ever you are. You and Hershey are giving dogs the flying hip check and the Chewbacca battle roar while you are putting the smoosh on them and Hershey is chewing on their necks. Dan and I will be there to lend human comentair some time in the future.....the far...far... future.

Love,

Adriaan