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You are here: Home / Absent Friends / RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020

by John Cole|  August 29, 20203:29 pm| 85 Comments

This post is in: Absent Friends, RIP

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My sister had to help her beloved dog Huck today end his misery, and he has moved on to join Irie, Russell, Tunch and a host of other very fine animals, and he will be missed very much. Huck was Devon’s best friend, a mere puppy when Irie left us, and has been a VERY good dog since he was a very adorable puppy.

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 2

Huck had a wide variety of interests. He liked to boat:

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 1

He liked to go for car rides:

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 3

He liked dropping the dope beats with his friends (this always looks like an album cover):

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 4

He like to roll in goose shit:

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 5

He loved to run the trails with Devon:

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 6

He was such a good boy, with such an even temperament, and one of the things he loved the most was teaching other dogs how to be a good dog. Huck may be gone, but he lives on in the honest to goodness hundred other dogs he helped Devon train and foster:

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 7

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 8

This picture of Huck with young Ginny is too much:

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 9

Every animal that my sister fostered became a better animal because of Huck. Devon taught them how to be loved, Huck taught them how to be a dog.

But out of all of these things Huck liked to do, the number one thing he loved to do the most was to be with Devon, and she loved it just as much.

RIP, Huck. You were the man. I’m crying.

RIP Huck, the GOODEST DOG, 2005-2020 10

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Reader Interactions

85Comments

  1. 1.

    Yutsano

    August 29, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    Aww crap. Doggo was indeed best doggo. Love and healing light to Devon.

  2. 2.

    geg6

    August 29, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    RIP Huck.  You sound like you were the best doggo ever.  My heartfelt sympathies to Devon.

  3. 3.

    zhena gogolia

    August 29, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    Wow. What a dog. His soul shines through in these pictures. Deepest sympathy to Devon and you.

  4. 4.

    CaseyL

    August 29, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    What a doggo! What a sad day. Condolences to you, Devon, and all of Huck’s extended family, of all species.

    In that boating photo, is Huck yelling at the water or trying to bite it?

  5. 5.

    SWMBO

    August 29, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    Peace and comfort to all who knew him. He seems like such a character. And those are always sorely missed.

  6. 6.

    lollipopguild

    August 29, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    “I want to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am”

  7. 7.

    Kristine

    August 29, 2020 at 3:39 pm

    Jeez, this year.

    Huck was a Good Dog. Heartfelt sympathies to Devon.

  8. 8.

    Big R

    August 29, 2020 at 3:39 pm

    May his memory be a blessing. Baruch dayan ha-emet.

  9. 9.

    seefleur

    August 29, 2020 at 3:40 pm

    Condolences to Hucks’ people – he will be missed, but will always be loved, and in that way Huck lives on as the good boy is always was.

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    August 29, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    Lovely tribute, Cole.  What a special boy.  I am crying, too.

    My heart goes out to all who loved him.

  11. 11.

    hedgehog mobile

    August 29, 2020 at 3:42 pm

    Aw, damn.  Love and light to Huck and Devon and John.

    This fucking year.

  12. 12.

    Emma

    August 29, 2020 at 3:42 pm

    A very good doggo is gone :(((

  13. 13.

    Miss Bianca

    August 29, 2020 at 3:43 pm

    Aww…today just seems to be a teary day to commemorate those lost. Even the sky is weeping and roaring over thisaway. Goodbye, good boy Huck.

  14. 14.

    brantl

    August 29, 2020 at 3:44 pm

    What a great dog. Hugs, Devon.

  15. 15.

    Sherparick

    August 29, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    @Big R: the same thought. So sorry John & Devon for your loss & that painful empty feeling you guys have right now.

  16. 16.

    LuciaMia

    August 29, 2020 at 3:57 pm

    Im so sorry. What a good, good dog.

  17. 17.

    Sure Lurkalot

    August 29, 2020 at 3:57 pm

    Even when their lives are relatively long, they are too short. I’ve been pet less for a decade now and every time a post like this comes up, I realize again how honored we are to have such companions, whether in person or vicariously.

    Condolences.

  18. 18.

    PJ

    August 29, 2020 at 3:58 pm

    My condolences to you and your sister, Cole. Losing a dog is hard.

    Slightly off topic, but I followed the link to the posting about Irie, and it was interesting to see that almost all of the commenters no longer comment here. (“Chopper” and “srv”, I think, still do.)

  19. 19.

    Benw

    August 29, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    Some dog!
    Losing a dog totally sucks

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 29, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    Huck was a very, very good dog, you can just tell from those photos. What a legacy he left. My condolences to Devon and to everyone who ever gave that good boy ear skritches or a belly rub.

  21. 21.

    WaterGirl

    August 29, 2020 at 4:01 pm

    @PJ: CaseyL and The Other Steve still comment, also.

  22. 22.

    LaurenR

    August 29, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    We miss them so  much even after losing Annabelle (a beagle) in 1979, I still miss her and wish the people in my life now could have known her as I did. RIP Huck.

  23. 23.

    dexwood

    August 29, 2020 at 4:05 pm

    Wag on, Huck, wag on.

  24. 24.

    Rob

    August 29, 2020 at 4:07 pm

    Aww, I’m crying too (and I’m pretty much just a lurker). RIP Huck.

  25. 25.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 29, 2020 at 4:08 pm

    What a good doggie, RIP.

  26. 26.

    J R in WV

    August 29, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    Cole, so sorry for your family’s loss. Huck was the perfect puppy, so obvious from your story and photos.

    All beloved puppys are perfect, even if they just ate your favorite left shoe! Just glad so many other rescued puppies got educated in dogness by Huck, his skills will live on in his myriad students. Our current Lab princess didn’t know anything about being a farm dog when I brought her home, and Happy Girl taught her everything she needed to know. I know Huck did that too, and I’m glad he taught all those doggos what they needed to know.

    Take good care of the remaining crew of puppies and kitties… I know you will.

  27. 27.

    Mary G

    August 29, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    Such a good boy.  Love and light to Devon and all Huck’s friends and family however many feet they walk on, and thank you all for sharing your memories of him with us.

  28. 28.

    J R in WV

    August 29, 2020 at 4:27 pm

    @Rob:

    Aww, I’m crying too (and I’m pretty much just a lurker). RIP Huck.

    That’s OK, lurkers have feelings too!

  29. 29.

    NeenerNeener

    August 29, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    I’m so sorry Huck is gone; I feel terrible for Devon.

    I had to let my last Australian Shepherd, Emily, go in June. She just couldn’t walk anymore, at almost 16 yo. I lost her brother, Fudge, to a stroke a year ago.This is the first time in 34 years that I’ve gone more than 2 weeks without a dog in my home and I feel it like an itch but I have some house remodeling to do before I start looking for my next fur friend.

  30. 30.

    VeniceRiley

    August 29, 2020 at 4:41 pm

    What a wonderful dog! Let’s just poretend he’s in Wakanda with T’Chala.

  31. 31.

    Elizabelle

    August 29, 2020 at 4:48 pm

    What a good dog.  With what a good life.

    You will always be remembered, Huck.

    And I love that album cover!!

  32. 32.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    August 29, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    Condolences on the loss. There’s been some much of it this year…

  33. 33.

    Aleta

    August 29, 2020 at 4:52 pm

    It’s so cool to watch a dog like Huck help young rescues come out of their apprehensive shells, as they start to frolic a little around the calm older dog.  Then eventually the little one is racing around, thrilled at this wonderful first friend.  Something of himself Huck  leaves behind in the rescued dogs, a very good and beautiful thing.

  34. 34.

    Elizabelle

    August 29, 2020 at 4:53 pm

    Irie left in October 2006, so Huck was at least 14.  That is a good run for a pup, but never long enough for a good, good dog.

    Devon, I am so sorry, and I hope (know) there is another wonderful dog in your future.  Although.  Not Huck.

  35. 35.

    Steeplejack

    August 29, 2020 at 4:53 pm

    A fine tribute to a fine dog! RIP, Huck.

  36. 36.

    Nicole

    August 29, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    I’m so sorry. He sounds like he was a wonderful pooch. All my sympathies.

  37. 37.

    Sloane Ranger

    August 29, 2020 at 5:00 pm

    What a handsome boy he was! He lived a happy and fulfilled life. My heart goes out to all whose life he made a little better by his presence.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    August 29, 2020 at 5:02 pm

    @Elizabelle: 2005 to 2020, sounds like Huck could have been 16, or close to it.

    Sounds like Huck was a once in a lifetime dog, though once in a blue moon, we are lucky enough to get more than one.

  39. 39.

    petesh

    August 29, 2020 at 5:06 pm

    Please accept my condolences and pat the rest of the animals for me, yourself and sister included. It’s hard. We have a 17-yr-old JRT, now sleeping right by me as he so often does, a bit slow on the uphills now but good on the downhill grades. He just better not leave us, that’s all I can say.

  40. 40.

    Skepticat

    August 29, 2020 at 5:12 pm

    Losing a pet is brutally painful, and here I am crying over a sweet dog I never knew. Just happy that you all gave him a good life and he returned the favor.

  41. 41.

    MazeDancer

    August 29, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    What a tribute!

    I’m tearing up, even though I just “met” him. Clearly, a splendid dog.

  42. 42.

    Elizabelle

    August 29, 2020 at 5:18 pm

    Huck does look a tad repentant about rolling in the goose shit.

  43. 43.

    Skyweaver

    August 29, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    I am so sorry for Devon and for anyone who loved Huck. There is no pain like it. So sad for everyone. I’m glad he was here.

  44. 44.

    raven

    August 29, 2020 at 5:29 pm

    Happy Trails good pup.

  45. 45.

    Mingobat (f/k/a Karen in GA)

    August 29, 2020 at 5:29 pm

    I’m so sorry. Hugs to Devon and all who were lucky enough to know Huck.

  46. 46.

    Tom Levenson

    August 29, 2020 at 5:29 pm

    What a grand dog.

    So sorry Huck’s gone.

  47. 47.

    Damned_at_Random

    August 29, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    What a great life Huck had.

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    August 29, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    @Elizabelle: You don’t think Huck knew what was coming next (the bath) and he was sorry about that?  :-)

    Sweet boy. I bet he was like my big dog AC, who did not like baths, but was such a gentleman that he would heave this huge sigh and then step into the tub himself.  Because I asked him to.

    Tears for all the great dogs we have loved and lost.

  49. 49.

    beckya57

    August 29, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    I’m so sorry, Huck looks like a wonderful dog.  I know all too well how hard it is to lose a pet.  People who don’t understand say, “Just get another one,” not realizing they’re all different (though that is still good advice, when the bereaved owner is ready).

    2020 just sucks.

  50. 50.

    ruemara

    August 29, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    Rest well, Huck. You were a most excellent boi. And the way you guarded the boat from all those pesky waves, you were a fierce guard.

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    August 29, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    Devon had to know this was coming, but she and Chris still came and celebrated with your parents for their anniversary on Thursday.  Coles are good people.

  52. 52.

    Miss Bianca

    August 29, 2020 at 5:55 pm

     

    @WaterGirl: Seconded.

  53. 53.

    TinRoofRusted

    August 29, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    We lost our Beowulf in May. He was also a good dog. I miss him everyday. Condolences to Devon and John. You never get over it. You just learn to live with it.

  54. 54.

    Joy in FL

    August 29, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    What a good dog, indeed. RIP Huck. My sympathy to the humans who love(d) him.

  55. 55.

    hitchhiker

    August 29, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    My adopted dog Utah looks almost exactly like Huck, so this post is flattening me pretty hard right now. I’m so sorry for your famly’s loss!

    Was Huck a Great Pyrhenees/Australian Shepherd mix? That’s what they think Utah is … can confirm they’re beautiful, soulful animals.

  56. 56.

    CaseyL

    August 29, 2020 at 6:05 pm

    @WaterGirl: Oh, my GOD.  What a trip down Memory Lane.  2006, and I think I first came to BJ in ’05.

    (Irie is also the dog from the “Best Santa Photo Of All Time” that John re-posts every year. Now, there’s immortality for you!)

  57. 57.

    MagdaInBlack

    August 29, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    What a great dog. Im very sorry, Devon and John and all who loved Huck.

  58. 58.

    Ghost of Joe Liebling*s Dog

    August 29, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    Ah, damn.  I’m so sorry.

  59. 59.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 29, 2020 at 6:28 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I was thinking exactly that! Had to have been tough for her. Mom and Dad Cole raised four terrific kids.

  60. 60.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 29, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    @CaseyL:

    I loved the story John told of when Irie was at the vet’s and they were just about to put him down, he caught sight of the office cat and went chasing after it — after having not been able to walk on his own for days. Made me laugh through my tears.

  61. 61.

    DougJ

    August 29, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    What a great fifteen years

  62. 62.

    Haroldo

    August 29, 2020 at 6:35 pm

    Fare-thee-well, Huck.  Here’s to finding more goose shit wherever you are.

  63. 63.

    Sab

    August 29, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    Looks to me like he had the best life a dog could have had.

  64. 64.

    The Moar You Know

    August 29, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    I will always stop to memorialize a dog.  Thank you, Huck.  Socializing dogs to the presence and habits of other dogs saves dog lives; it’s not trivial.

    Ride in peace, good hound.  Please say hi to my departed and desperately missed Hannah.

  65. 65.

    Heidi Mom

    August 29, 2020 at 6:46 pm

    What a sweet dog! I’m so very sorry for your family’s loss.

  66. 66.

    nclurker

    August 29, 2020 at 6:48 pm

    at 66,i’m pretty cynical about most things.

    i’m sitting on the couch with my rescue pit’s massive head in my hand while i read this,and i realize

    that dog’s are about the only thing i remain truly sentimental about.

    the only thing i know for sure ,is that the only way to get over a great dog ,is to get another one.

  67. 67.

    Rob

    August 29, 2020 at 6:48 pm

    @J R in WV:

    :-)

  68. 68.

    zhena gogolia

    August 29, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    @PJ: 
    Interesting. CaseyL too. I think this was even before my time.

  69. 69.

    Aleta

    August 29, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    @TinRoofRusted:  My sympathy to you.  Beowulf, what a good name for a good dog.  What you say is true:

    “You never get over it. You just learn to live with it.”

    I guess that’s how they stay in our hearts, but I wish it were not so hard.

  70. 70.

    Annie

    August 29, 2020 at 7:33 pm

    I am so sorry to hear this. Condolences to Devon.

    I hope there are lots of boat rides and car rides for Huck in doggy heaven

  71. 71.

    Quantumman

    August 29, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    I am sorry to hear of your sister’s loss.  We lost our two girls within the past ten days.  We lost Lina our Great Dane, and Faith our Irish Wolfhound.  Losing a companion animal is devastating.  My condolences to all who grieve for him.

  72. 72.

    Blackcatsrule

    August 29, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @nclurker: We feel the same way about kitties.  Over the past two decades we usually get a “replacement” cat within a week when one of the residents passes on.  We feel it honors their memory and why let a kitty wait any longer for a home when we have an available space?

    Condolences to all on the passing of a very good dog.

  73. 73.

    WaterGirl

    August 29, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    @Quantumman: I am so sorry.  I believe you had shared the loss of one of them recently, and you knew the other loss was coming all too soon.

    Tears for you and for your beloved pets.  Two in such a short period would be almost unbearable.  So very sorry.

  74. 74.

    Mary G

    August 29, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    @Quantumman: That’s awful, so close together. I’m so sorry for your loss.

  75. 75.

    columbusqueen

    August 29, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    Rest in peace, darling Huck. What a good boy you were!

  76. 76.

    cbear

    August 29, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    Aw crap, what a sad loss for Devon and the extended Cole family. RIP Huck.

  77. 77.

    Ann Marie

    August 29, 2020 at 9:38 pm

    I’m so sorry.  My furry friends and I send love and sympathy to Devon and you.

  78. 78.

    ellie

    August 29, 2020 at 9:49 pm

    Huck was a cutie! The bestest boi. I am so sorry for your loss. Every pet I lose is another piece of my heart gone.

  79. 79.

    Drunkenhausfrau

    August 29, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    Hoisting one for Huck!

  80. 80.

    TomatoQueen

    August 30, 2020 at 12:19 am

    Huck on the Bridge, a very good dog indeed. RIP.

  81. 81.

    Spinoza Is My Co-pilot

    August 30, 2020 at 3:05 am

    The Rainbow Bridge ought to be real, dammit. Dogs are the best, we hardly deserve them. Miss all mine who have gone, have just one sweet pup left now of our continual pack going back decades (most often we’d have 3 together sharing our home) and he will be our last.

  82. 82.

    brantl

    August 30, 2020 at 3:25 am

    @lollipopguild: Hell, I just want to be as good a person as my dog IS.

  83. 83.

    rikyrah

    August 30, 2020 at 7:27 am

    So sorry for her loss????

  84. 84.

    oldster

    August 30, 2020 at 8:59 am

    This is one of the most touching, eloquent, and noble tributes that I have ever read, to a member of any species.

    If I thought I would be eulogized in these terms, I would be able to die happily right now.

    Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

  85. 85.

    Mary Ellen Sandahl

    August 30, 2020 at 5:10 pm

    No one will read this, I’m so late to the thread. I mostly lurk, but just want to say how touching and wonderful I’m finding Huck’s story and memorial, and everyone’s kind empathy and stories about their good dogs, past and present. What a fine being he was. So many of us have shared our lives with animals of great character. Not always as totally good as Huck was –these days, I am auntie to one intermittently problem boi who’s a rescue probably from a puppy mill and wouldn’t miss it for the world – but much loved all the same. Good critters, good people all here! Thanks for posting, John and everyone.

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