by Judi McLeod
January 26, 2004
Keen dog lovers include the President of the United States. Barney Bush, an ink black Scottish terrier, has the run of the White House and his very own Web page. a gift from George W. to Laura Bush on her 57th birthday, Barney’s sparkle proved brighter than any diamond.
The Scottish terrier’s capers at the White House during the holiday season of 2002 were captured on "Barney Cam", a White House video. Gamboling freely through formally decorated staterooms, sniffing out the gaily-wrapped presents under the presidential Chistmas tree and outrunning a posse of autograph-seeking grade-school children rocketed Barney to canine fame.
Every dog lover has a favourite dog. With apologies to Canadafreepress.com office mascot, Kiko, Dari, because of his last adventure, was mine.
When I left Toronto to work at the Kingston Whig Standard, Dari came with me. Named for the Persian word for river, Dari, a Lhaso apso was an adventurous little scalawag. accompanying me to the office when I was filing stories, he once cocked his leg at the trousered one of the only editor who ever spiked my columns.
Dari is the main reason why Kiko was neutered. The Lhaso’s sense of adventure, I always thought, stemmed from getting to keep all of his male parts. The biggest problem he ever caused was going into a lady’s handbag while I was blithely writing my column with my lap computer on one of Kingston’s many outside cafes. By the time he was caught in the act, he had already gobbled up a month’s supply of the victim’s birth control pills.
But Dari’s last adventure broke my heart. at my job only a few months, Toronto friends who didn’t want to be lonely on my birthday, arrived to spend the day with me. after their departure the following morning, alan and Sheila Henriksen the only Kingstonites I knew invited Dari and me over for Sunday brunch. The Lhaso and yours truly arrived at the Henriksens by taxicab. alan tied him to a tree, as I was forever worried the little dog would soon be wandering off in search of adventure.
It happened that across the road lived a general retired from the Canadian armed Forces. The general, who disagreed with some of my Whig columns, telephoned the Henriksens to ask whether he could come over to meet me. as we traded barbs, I noticed that the general kept looking across the road. Thinking that his wife was waiting lunch for him, I asked if he was expected at home. "No, my dog is in heat, and I’m looking to make sure she won’t try to follow me," he said. Within moments of his explanation, Dari, who had been straining against his ties, broke the rope tying him to the tree, and bounded across the road. a passing motorist with no chance to avoid it, ran Dari over, killing him.
The visiting General, of course, felt terrible.
Dari’s last adventure had only one note of humour. Devastated, I had returned to my apartment, where I wanted to be alone. My friend South african Zulu friend Vusi Buthelezi happened to call apologizing for missing the birthday bash the day before. When I tearfully told him what happened, he offered to make the drive from Toronto to Kingston right away.
The Henriksens had kindly buried Dari under the tree to which he was tied in the backyard, sparing me the pain that would come from having to look after the matter myself.
The General and other neighbours decided a small garden cocktail party might soften the impact of the terrible events.
Vusi decided to stay for the event before driving back to the University of Toronto where he was studying Political Science.
Back in T.O., friends who had attended the birthday bash spread the word about Dari’s last adventure. My friend Dani Crittenden sent a bower of flowers in an effort to cheer me up. Vusi and I were on the way out the door to the garden party when the telephone rang. It was my ex John McLeod, who had bought me Dari shortly after our divorce.
after chatting with him for a few moments, I told him that Vusi and I were on our way to "Dari’s funeral."
"Well, I’ve got to be the only ex-husband whose wife attended a dog’s funeral with a Zulu prince," said McLeod.
Meanwhile, there’s a small stone marking Dari’s grave in the Henriksen backyard that upsets me even to this day.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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