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A Eulogy for Remus

Victor Kerlow

Dear Diary:

In New York City it takes a lot to get people's attention, but Remus would stop people in their tracks everywhere he went. All over the city, mostly the East Village and Union Square, where I lived and walked my big white dog, he drew fans of all types. Ever since my wife and I moved back to New York in 2004, Remus has been our guide to the city, bringing out characters we would never meet otherwise.

Remus spent his first two years living in Arizona next to a golf course. He picked up city life pretty quickly, though, and the cornucopia of scents on the sidewalks was a dog's pupu platter of smelly delights.

Remus reminded people of dogs they had when they were children. Or do gs they saw in movies. Or a dog they used to know, or as one admirer said a few months ago, “That's the whitest dog I've ever seen.”

Remus was actually an American bulldog, 100 pounds, big, white, friendly and full of love.

Remus and I met a lot of people on our nightly walks around Union Square. People loved to come up and pet him and tell stories. Lots of times people wanted to feed him, but usually I wouldn't let them - you never know in the city. Except the guy who came out of the Strip House and gave him a barely eaten rib-eye; that was too good to pass up.

He lived a full life, but now Remus is gone and I'll miss my buddy, the city we walked together every night and all the characters I'll no longer meet.

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