I first met Phred back in '03 I believe, at the Findlay gathering. I remember Graham, my sweet little dog, took an immdediate liking to Phred. Graham would sit his little butt down in front of Phred, and his little stubble tail would be wagging @ 100 mph, carving a little "tail angel" in the dirt. Phred was so charmed by Graham, and the feeling was mutual. He'd dip his hand into his treat bag, pull out a cookie for Graham, Graham would give a little bark and beg for another. Phred would just laugh and kept giving him one after another. I had to tell Phred that Graham was going to get diarrhea from all the cookies. Phred could NOT say no to Graham. Seriously, his heart was so full of love that he had to keep that doggie of mine happy.

I only went to a few PT gatherings, but as soon as I took the dogs to the dog area, Graham scoped out Phred, sat in front of him, and started making tail angels in the dirt staring up at Phred and begging the way he knew Phred could not resist. I got a kick out of how much Graham loved Phred, and also how hard Graham's persistant attention was hard for Phred to resist. He was such an adorable man.

I will never forget a few years ago, Quinn was a baby, and my sister-in-law picked up this little basset/beagle puppy that was dumped in a bad neighborhood, and he was litterely in the middle of the road. Phred helped orchestrate "Woody's" big plane trip from here to his new home in PA. I could not have done it without his help. We ran into all kinds of problems with the airlines while trying to fly Woody to PA, and Phred would talk to the right people and use the right tone of voice and, with his persistant, tenacious help, we FINALLY were able to fly Woody to PA. He was one tough cookie with the softest, most gentle spirit.

I wish he was not gone. I can't even stand the thought of never reading his delightful posts. I am so deeply moved that he wanted some ashes to be spread at Findlay Dog Park. He had such an impact on all of us, but we, also, had a huge, life-changing impact on him. I'm glad to have known him.