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.