Cornelius Van Der Veis...was a kindly, sweet, funny, lirtatious homeless man in Downtown San Jose. He always sat at the corner of Market Street and Santa Clara, and he always had a friendly word and a piece of candy for any passerby. He also always had his dog Booboo by his side. If it was cold, Boo was wearing a thick jacket. If it was hot, Boo had a bandana on. He was so clean and neat that a lot of people never realized that he was homeless.
He let Boo be the judge of anyone who approached him. If Boo liked you, you had a friend in Cornelius.
On Monday morning, another homeless man began to throw things at Booboo. Cornelius got angry, and he started to argue with the man. The man then attacked Cornelius, and somehow during the altercation, Cornelius died. Paramedics tried to revive him, but to no avail.
I never had the privilage of knowing these two personally, but I was heartbroken to hear this story, and even more so to read the condolence book that the Mercury News put up on their website and to see how many lives he touched.
http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_5788212 (the condolence book is linked to beneath the picture)
In this day and age, when the homeless are often looked down upon, people like Cornelius often get overlooked. I hope he has found a wonderful place on the other side.
Booboo was taken in by San Jose Animal Control. At least 20 people have offered to adopt him, but they are reluctant to release him because he has a history of bites.I do hope he gets a chance. WHile I didn't know the pair, I'll wager that the bites were in defense of Cornelius.
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