erl

september 1995 - june 2006

  • the first time i saw erl, he was trying to jump on the couch at hostetter's to get next to me. he was so teeny tiny that he couldn't make it without assistance. i was a goner in that instant.
  • apparently, erl spent about a week in cottage home neighborhood after being dumped by a woman & a small child in a neighbor's yard. heather on 9th street had taken him in, but he took off after a couple of days.  he walked into the hostetter's back door, following max & zoe from the yard, like he belonged there. they tried to convince us for about a week  to come & meet him, but we said it wasn't the right time for a dog.
  • we were wrong. from the second we met him, he belonged to us & we belonged to him.
  • i brought him home to meet josh - supposedly the tough one - who was making dinner. josh walked out of the kitchen to find little erl whose tail was wagging so hard in crazy circles that he couldn't walk in a straight line. josh said, "oh my" & that was that. helecopter butt was one of erl's first nicknames.
  • erl was a great singer. when josh practiced saxamaphone, erl would pace outside the door, harmonizing with all his energy. we liked to let him show off his skills for guests. one note played on harmonica & he'd be off.

 

erl at about 5 months 

 

                   winter 2005                               spring 2006

    

 

               june 2004                                              thanksgiving 2005

 

 

spring 2006  

    

 

we feel very lucky & honored that erl shared his life with us.

he will be greatly missed by his family & his many friends.

 

 

  • over the years, erl received many nicknames - more than we could ever remember... names like: helecopter butt, bobablu, captain perplexo, greybeard, peanut head, fishbreath...
  • erl was there for us through so much. when josh was on the road, he was my sidekick. when we were sick or sad, he was right by our sides. cheerful & excited. sometimes a little neurotic. always very funny.
  • he was a force of happiness & love in our lives for over 10 years. i know if he didn't get sick that he & emmit would have been best friends.
  • erl was always more a people-person than a dog-person. he had some deep pooch-friendships...emma, max, zoe, charlie, asa, macgregor... but he would always leave the dogs to hang out with the people. he was especially fond of demian & katie, annie (his godmother), timmy, matt, jane, diane, laura, ryan, craig, margaret,  the hostetters, the enright-silbert clan, kellie, bihl, elaine, felicity, charles  & pretty much anyone who would play with him or scratch him behind the ear.

  • right up to the end, josh & i were certain that erl could talk. there was just something in his eyes that told us he had something very important to say. when he was younger, we joked that if given the chance to speak only once, he'd get so excited that he'd forget what he wanted to say.  on his last day, he didn't use words (the stinker - holding out on us!), but he did tell us that he loved us.