Murdered Dog Drives Creation of Memory Plaques for Pets
Seattle’s Story

 
I was sitting on one of those hard backed chairs that you’ll find in just about very funeral home. It was my Mom’s wake. She had passed away from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and I was visiting with an older couple who where good friends of hers.

They knew the special bond my Mom and I had and all my devotion to her during her illness. If you’ve ever been involved with a loved one that has had cancer you will know just what I mean.

She was a wonderful Mom that acted like a lioness with her cubs. It was the very least I could do to repay her in some small way for all her help and her love. As I was sitting there during a break in the conversation and remembering her … her friends interrupted my thoughts and asked …

“Have you ever heard of a great Indian Chief called Chief Seattle?”.

As I stared at my Mom as she lay in the casket I whispered “No I’ve never heard of him.”

Well for the next few minutes they both shared some wonderful inspiring stories about this famous, very wise man. Than after a moment the wife stared directly into my eyes and said, “John, one of his most famous quotes is … the dead are not powerless.”

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard those words. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up and my entire body; head to toe was full of goose pimples.

What an emotional moment.

Those words will forever be burned into my mind.

Some time went buy and I was still living in my Moms home. (I had moved in to help her with her battle against cancer.) It’s a nice home but after she was gone it certainly seemed very big and very empty.

Out of the blue my wonderful sister Jean, stopped in and said, “You need company.” She knew before my parent’s deaths I had a Chow who was devoted to me. She thought it was about time I took a look at getting a pet.

That night we brought home the cutest little bundle of fur! On the drive home she asked me what his name was going to be. You guessed it… his name had to be Seattle.

How could it be anything else?

These memories rushed through my mind as I sat in the cool grass that summer morning cradling Seattle’s head in my lap.

I couldn’t understand it. He was so powerful and in such good health. How could something like this happen? I needed to know. I called Tufts Animal Hospital In Massachusetts and immediate wrapped Seattle up in a blanket. Mary and I rushed him directly up to the Tufts Animal Hospital.

I carried him in and laid him down on a gurney and said, “My good friend died this morning and I need to know what happened.”

Mary and I took that long ride back and spent the entire time talking about Seattle, his wonderful personality, and all the great memories we had. We even talked about my Mom. Needless to say it was an emotional drive back.

With in a few days I got the call.

Based on the test results it seemed Seattle had ingested antifreeze. I was shocked! Anti-freeze?

I had always known how deadly it was and I knew I didn’t have any around the house. I took no chances. I searched the entire house and the yard … TWICE. I couldn’t find a thing.

That’s when Mary shook me out of my emotional funk and said, “You know all the problems we’re having with the landlord at the business... “

Life can throw you some twists and turns.

This was a crazy time. Not only was Seattle killed ... My business, my employees and myself were unknowingly being exposed to lead dust during a rehab of the building my business occupied at the time. This rehab project eventually saw 3 people arrested for illegal disposal of toxic waste and risk of injury and death.

I believe this crime is the largest toxic waste crime in the state of CT.

Mary said, “Do you remember how one of the people that was arrested in this illegal toxic waste disposal case threatened Seattle’s life?”  He said’ “I’ll kill that f--king dog.”

I stopped and couldn’t move. It was like a cold hard slap in the face. She was right. Seattle’s life had been threatened. I even called the Norwich Police when it happened. (The Officer that investigated said they couldn’t do anything since the dog didn’t know he had been threatened so no real crime had been committed.)

I found Seattle dead a short time later.

For the record, I certainly can’t say who killed Seattle, I am only stating true facts.

But I do have some very STRONG suspicions.

The sad part is during this mess the only pictures I had of Seattle were destroyed. I only have 1 picture of Seattle remaining. It’s the one that you see on the site. All the others were damaged or lost during that mess I mentioned above.

My whole point is ...  don’t make the same mistake I made. You never know what crazy things can happen. Take some pictures of your pet and protect them before it’s to late.

If you have a similar story or experience to tell about your pet or you would just like to comment on Seattle’s Story you can post your comments at Seattle’s Blog. Please email me for info.

Please visit Seattle’s Blog.

I’ve created a memory plaque for Seattle and it brings me comfort every time I look at it.
If you’d like to learn more about memory plaques click here.