Happy Birthday To Loving Leonard and MacKaye
March 30th was Leonard and late MacKaye’s birthday. It was actually the very first time in 9 years that MacK wouldn’t be there with us. If it was an utterly difficult time for me to be festive, I wanted to celebrate the blessing they both had been for me by offering Leonard a special treat to mark the occasion. He was so happy. Contrary to MacKaye who didn’t care much about anybody but me, Leonard grew up becoming everybody’s friend. Well, when he gets to know you, otherwise he’s the enforcer of the family. No wonder why MacKaye’s nickname was “lover boy” and Leonard’s is “Joe Pesci” (for his role as Nicky Santoro in Casino), after he started to go full “alfa” on a 125 Lbs Rottweiler in a local dog park…which leads to a story encapsulating the peaceful and gathering nature of my two boys.
It all started when a friendly mountain-muscled dog named “Spike” – who’s a former fighting dog that has been rescued – befriended Leonard. If you wonder why I know “Spike’s” personal story, well, it all started when an even bigger mountain of muscles man yelled: “Who the F*** is the owner of that dog?”, and saw Leonard “Joe Pesci” Foster standing on top of a totally dominated “Spike”.
It all started when a friendly mountain-muscled dog named “Spike” – who’s a former fighting dog that has been rescued – befriended Leonard. If you wonder why I know “Spike’s” personal story, well, it all started when an even bigger mountain of muscles man yelled: “Who the F*** is the owner of that dog?”, and saw Leonard “Joe Pesci” Foster standing on top of a totally dominated “Spike”.
Me: “Ah wow, Leonard, you made a friend! How cool is that.”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “They are not friends, your dog is bossing him around.”
Me: “Well, I’m bossing my friends around all the time. Look how happy they are.”
(The scene looked like a fight between a lightweight and a heavyweight. But for whatever reason, the bigger one was totally knocked down to the ground. Like friends do, right?!?”)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “Spike is a rescue dog.”
Me: “Ah wow, very touching. The bond we have with those lovely pups… amazing.”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “He was a fighting dog in an underground scam in the US…”
Me: “He looks like an athlete” (I didn’t say that. I said: “No way”. I’m not suicidal.)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “I never saw any dog dominate him before…”
Me: “Dominate? I’m just seeing 2 dogs having fun (I didn’t say that either. I said: “Is that right?”)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “Your dog has been trained…”
Me: “Not really. I’m very surprised.” (No I wasn’t. Leonard is a bit crazy…)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “You’ve got yourself a very special little companion here man.”
Me: “He’s lovely. His brother is actually over there.”
(We both turned to look at MacKaye who was dominating another big dog someplace else…)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “What’s their breed?”
Me: “I don’t know exactly, I adopted them in Austin, Texas. They told me their DNA results showed a mix of Pit Bull, Australian Cattle Dog, Chow Chow, and something else. You know, sweet and lovely family dogs…”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “If they’re not castrated, do you mind presenting them to my little Suzie?”, which stood for a 90-pound female Dobermann, seated by his girlfriend at the other end of the park.
Mountain of Muscles Man: “They are not friends, your dog is bossing him around.”
Me: “Well, I’m bossing my friends around all the time. Look how happy they are.”
(The scene looked like a fight between a lightweight and a heavyweight. But for whatever reason, the bigger one was totally knocked down to the ground. Like friends do, right?!?”)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “Spike is a rescue dog.”
Me: “Ah wow, very touching. The bond we have with those lovely pups… amazing.”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “He was a fighting dog in an underground scam in the US…”
Me: “He looks like an athlete” (I didn’t say that. I said: “No way”. I’m not suicidal.)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “I never saw any dog dominate him before…”
Me: “Dominate? I’m just seeing 2 dogs having fun (I didn’t say that either. I said: “Is that right?”)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “Your dog has been trained…”
Me: “Not really. I’m very surprised.” (No I wasn’t. Leonard is a bit crazy…)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “You’ve got yourself a very special little companion here man.”
Me: “He’s lovely. His brother is actually over there.”
(We both turned to look at MacKaye who was dominating another big dog someplace else…)
Mountain of Muscles Man: “What’s their breed?”
Me: “I don’t know exactly, I adopted them in Austin, Texas. They told me their DNA results showed a mix of Pit Bull, Australian Cattle Dog, Chow Chow, and something else. You know, sweet and lovely family dogs…”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “If they’re not castrated, do you mind presenting them to my little Suzie?”, which stood for a 90-pound female Dobermann, seated by his girlfriend at the other end of the park.
Me: “So sorry, they are both castrated. They would have had nice babies, that’s for sure.”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “And they’re castrated. Man, what a loss. They have the only character you are looking for in the perfect dog; loyal and dominant.”
Me: “Yes, and loving and fun. Right?”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “Dogs’ behaviors tell a lot about their master’s true nature. Glad to meet another warrior. See you around man, nice dogs.”
Me: “Yes, you’re right. See you around fellow warrior (I didn’t say that. I just said: “Take care man.”)
I called MacKaye and Leonard back, as they were bossing other dogs around, and we left. When I got back to the studio, it was the end of the story, until Stephanie and Miss Isabel asked me how it went.
Me: “It went well, but we shouldn’t go back there again. Other dogs are very aggressive, I don’t want them to be hurt you know.”
Miss: “Ah, no. I hate to see some of those aggressive dog owners send their animals to bully others around. They need to compensate for their lack of power in their lives.”
Me: “You’re right. You’re right. It’s so unhealthy.”
Miss: “They turn their dogs into killing machines, freaking cowards. You don’t do that to animals. ”
Me: “Anyway, the boys are back, they had fun, they ran around and played with pretty much all the other dogs.”
Miss: “Ah, babys. You truly are the result of a loving family and a mentally stable environment.”
I never went back to that dog park, and neither did the others. Months later, Miss Isabel came back with the boys and asked me:
“Do you know any big guy with dogs named Spike and Suzie? He told me he had an amazing time with you at the dog park in the past. He asked “Where’s the warrior?” when he saw Leonard and MacKaye, while all the other owners were taking their dogs away.”
Me: “I don’t know, sometimes people get confused. There are so many different dogs around. Right?”
And that was it. Such a strange encounter.
Anyway, happy birthday my sweet and tender little boys Leonard (and MacKaye). Papa is blessed for having you dominate his life’s sorrowfulness and his damaged heart for 9 years now. And come to think of it, Mountain of Muscles Man was right, “unconditional love” is the mark of true warriors!!!
Mountain of Muscles Man: “And they’re castrated. Man, what a loss. They have the only character you are looking for in the perfect dog; loyal and dominant.”
Me: “Yes, and loving and fun. Right?”
Mountain of Muscles Man: “Dogs’ behaviors tell a lot about their master’s true nature. Glad to meet another warrior. See you around man, nice dogs.”
Me: “Yes, you’re right. See you around fellow warrior (I didn’t say that. I just said: “Take care man.”)
I called MacKaye and Leonard back, as they were bossing other dogs around, and we left. When I got back to the studio, it was the end of the story, until Stephanie and Miss Isabel asked me how it went.
Me: “It went well, but we shouldn’t go back there again. Other dogs are very aggressive, I don’t want them to be hurt you know.”
Miss: “Ah, no. I hate to see some of those aggressive dog owners send their animals to bully others around. They need to compensate for their lack of power in their lives.”
Me: “You’re right. You’re right. It’s so unhealthy.”
Miss: “They turn their dogs into killing machines, freaking cowards. You don’t do that to animals. ”
Me: “Anyway, the boys are back, they had fun, they ran around and played with pretty much all the other dogs.”
Miss: “Ah, babys. You truly are the result of a loving family and a mentally stable environment.”
I never went back to that dog park, and neither did the others. Months later, Miss Isabel came back with the boys and asked me:
“Do you know any big guy with dogs named Spike and Suzie? He told me he had an amazing time with you at the dog park in the past. He asked “Where’s the warrior?” when he saw Leonard and MacKaye, while all the other owners were taking their dogs away.”
Me: “I don’t know, sometimes people get confused. There are so many different dogs around. Right?”
And that was it. Such a strange encounter.
Anyway, happy birthday my sweet and tender little boys Leonard (and MacKaye). Papa is blessed for having you dominate his life’s sorrowfulness and his damaged heart for 9 years now. And come to think of it, Mountain of Muscles Man was right, “unconditional love” is the mark of true warriors!!!
