Dowland, 1995–2009
I"m sad to report that Dowland, our first-arrived greyhound, died peacefully in his sleep early Tuesday morning, 20 January 2009. As Isaac wrote to some friends
He was 13 years, 7 months and 3 days in this world, and was with us for 10 years, 7 months & 7 days. We miss him already, but we are glad that he died peacefully at home, in his own room.
His favorite room in the house was our library. With its south-facing windows, winter sun streamed in during the mornings; that was Dowland's comfort spot, and the place where he died. The photograph was taken on the occasion of his 13th birthday, 17 June 2008.
Dowland, whose track name was "Don't Point", came to us directly from his kennel in Florida, not long after his last winning race on 4 June 1997. Looking at this racing record I see that he only ran at three tracks: Melbourne, Fagler, and Mardi Gras. I was also interested to see that he won the first race he ever ran, finishing 503 meters in 31.53 seconds. His winning time in his last win was 31.07 seconds, even though he was 2.5 kg heavier. In his career he ran a total of 130 races, winning 15.
In his pedigree there are a few ancestors of note: His paternal grandsire ("Dutch Bahama") and maternal great-grandsire ("Downing") both appear to have been racers of some distinction.
With a track name like "Don't Point", you can see why we changed his name when he came to us: would we call him "Don't" for short? Hardly. Anyway, we had decided to try to find a name with an initial 'D' sound, and we thought and thought until the obvious stuck us and we named him for one of our favorite composers, John Dowland (1563 – 1626). Why obvious? For some years we'd thought of John Dowland's big hit, Lacrimae Antiquae (sometimes sung with the words "Flowe My Teares"), to be "our song".
Dowland was quite good natured and pretty easy to get along with; he was never unabashedly cheerful, but rarely sullen. His only serious neurosis, the bane of existence really, was stairs.
Like all greyhounds newly arrived from the track, he'd never seen stairs and had to be taught to use them. It was a learning experience he hated passionately. Perhaps the experience traumatized him because he never used the stairs as easily or unselfconsciously as all of our other greyhounds. It was always a trial and the only thing that got him to the top sometimes was his loyalty to us and the cookie awaiting him at the top. As he aged stairs seemed to loom ever larger as a hurdle to the point that two steps at the back door became a major nuisance he had to face whenever bathroom needs called. In his last few months he lived solely in his first-floor domain and seemed more content for it.
He had a noble aspect and handsome coloring, with ears that were uincharacteristically erect. His eyes always sparkled with alert curiosity. Technically his color was "red brindle", but his brindling was so slight–a few dark areas and one or two indistinct stripes–that he looked more red with fur slightly soiled, as though he'd crawled under a truck with a leaky oil pan.
Those who know greyhounds know how little sound they typically make. I think it was three months or more after he arrived before we even heard him bark, something that he very rarely did unless he got excited during a game of "rabbit".* There were two dogs in the neighborhood who sometimes warranted barks, too, when encountered on walks, otherwise he was a friend to all.
Despite his silent demeanor, I had become accustomed in the last few months to hearing the sound of his increasingly heavy-footed walking downstairs as he moved from one of his favored sleeping spots to the other one.
Tonight the house seems unnaturally quiet.
—–
* A game we invented for him in which he tried to catch a small stuffed toy tied to a cord that Isaac swung around his head. It was called "rabbit" regardless of the toy tied to the string–we always thought of it as a substitute for the mechanical rabbit that greyhounds chase during races. When the rabbit would land in the grass, Dowland would often try to scare it out by barking at it.
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on Thursday, 22 January 2009 at 08.23
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Hi J & I… I'm so sorry Dowland had to leave you but I'm so glad he went out in Dowland fashion – quietly and with dignity…
I'll miss him too…
Hugs to you both, and hug Azalea for me too
on Thursday, 22 January 2009 at 23.17
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Isaac directed me to read the blog. I'm sorry for your loss but glad it was a peaceful departure.
on Friday, 23 January 2009 at 09.25
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So sorry to hear about Dowland. I remember when he first arrived he didn't know what to make of the stairs having never been confronted with them before!! Big bear hugs to you both…
on Friday, 23 January 2009 at 20.30
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Losing a friend like that must be very tough. And greyhounds are such sweet animals, too. Blessings on him in his new journey, and on y'all as you mourn his loss.
on Saturday, 24 January 2009 at 22.23
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Please accept my sympathy, too. I know all too well how hard it
is to lose a beloved pet, a part of your family.
on Monday, 26 January 2009 at 21.58
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Dowland and my-girl-Sandy are doubtless waiting for you at this end of the rainbow bridge
on Thursday, 29 January 2009 at 11.51
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I'm sorry to hear of your loss, Jeff. It's so hard to lose an animal member of the family. What a beautiful piece you've written in his memory.