RIP Brian

I’ve been too sad to write this post but it’s time. We said goodbye to our sweet Brian last week. We’ve loved him with all our hearts.

We had 13 years with him. We got him when JW was 4 years old and they grew up together. He lived the best, most enviable life and made ours richer. He started to decline in the last years, but we did all the therapies and the medicines and all the things to make him comfortable and happy.

When he suffered a stroke we knew we were at the end. The vet told us to take him home and love him and say goodbye. We spent the weekend showering him with love. We made him a swimming pool in the garden to keep him cool. We took him on a picnic in the grassy shade where Shrimpy is moored. We gave him rotisserie chicken and croissants and deviled eggs.

We reminded him of his adventures and shenanigans, the time he ate the gingerbread house in the middle of the night and ran through the house, spraying diarrhea, upstairs and down, after which James said “we have to move.” The hornet nest he dug up resulting in the both of us getting stung multiple times after which he ate the box of baking soda I was using to remove the stingers. The bunny.

The moment JW and Brian met. JW named him Brian and we thought it was hilarious.

Brian endured many a costume. We spent hours amusing ourselves by dressing him in hats and glasses and sweaters and as JW’s sidekick on Halloween.

Brian was my muse, getting me back into writing as the star of my blog and Instagram. He provided endless source material and creative spark. Here he is posing as a Scottish detective in my mystery series. He never solved a case.

Brian lived a life of adventure and joy. He was the King of the Amsterdam canals on his canal boat where he was featured in countless tourist’s Instagram stories. Everyone loves a dog on a boat. He rode throughout Amsterdam in his bakfiets, his ears flapping in the wind. He ran free in the Vondelpark, rolling in the green grass, swimming in the ponds and canals.

He swam in the Atlantic Ocean, The North Sea, and the Mediterranean. He could not walk down the street without being showered with attention. Strangers bought him treats. Everyone loved him. He was truly the best boy.

Brian and James both have summer birthdays. Cancers, so moody and loyal.

Brian brought people so much joy. They’d stand along the canals and on the bridges pointing and taking his picture. It was so lovely to see people’s faces light up when they saw him. He was universally loved.

Brian was an integral part of my healing process in Amsterdam. When we moved here I was grieving the loss of my career, rifts in my family and despair about the state of my country. I felt lost and unmoored. Brian and I spent long days together down by the canals, in the Vondelpark, and on endless canal walks. He had so much empathy and love. He knew when people were hurting and offered his gentle comfort.

Brian was my constant companion. We spent all our time together.

There is nothing James would not do for this dog. Brian’s comfort and happiness was his life’s work.

Brian loved riding in his Bakfiets with the wind in his ears.

He was such a Scooby-Doo. He was afraid of everything and loved snacks.

We took Brian everywhere, and in Europe he was especially welcome but even back in the States we’d bring him along as much as we could. One time we were invited to a holiday party and I said I’m not sure Brian is invited and James said what if he wears his Christmas sweater?

I can’t tell you how many hours Brian and I spent napping on the bow of our boat while James sailed us around the canals. Our bliss was contagious. One time a woman sitting in a canal-side cafe stood up from her meal and raised her glass and toasted us as we sailed by. I’ll never forget it.