His life prior to the summer of 1996 is a mystery. He was found walking near I-95 and Route 36, the primary intersection between Denver and Boulder, Colorado, and was taken to the human society in Denver, where he stayed, unclaimed, for two weeks before a freelance journalist named Bill Simpson showed up. After walking through the entire pound Bill arrived at Kazak’s stall, and the dog -- then either a year or three years old, depending on which vet you believed -- got up from where he had been lying, walked over to the glass, and jumped up right in front of Bill. It wasn’t the panicked, frantic jumping of some nervous pound hound, but the casual greeting you might get if you showed up a bit late for a meeting with an old friend. “Oh, there you are, I’ve been waiting for you.
Bill later married Carol, and together they moved to Denver, Colorado; Flagstaff, Arizona; Kansas City, Missouri; Portland, Maine; Burlington, Vermont; and, finally, to Lawrence, Kansas. By then Kazak was ready for the freedom of country life. Consistent with his habit of adopting people, he decided to move in with us and spent the remainder of his life patrolling our property, guarding against intruders, going for walks in the woods, and fulfilling his life's dream of catching squirrels.
We don't know the circumstances of his death, so both the beginning and the end of his life are clouded in mystery. All we really know that this gentle, patient dog was loved by many people and that he is sorely missed.
1 comment:
He was loved by our entire family! We babysat Kazak while Bill and Carol were off on an adventure for a week and we really didn't want to give him up! Lovely tribute to a lovely dog!
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