Herding Bronze Cats

Samson's memorial in Estes Park stands as a reminder of the massive elk and as a warning to poachers. Author's Collection My most recent outing brought me to Estes Park, Colorado (I’ll be running out of memorials in my home state soon though).  Estes is a small mountain community on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. The community may be most famous as the home of the Stanley Hotel (from the movie version of Stephen King's The  Shining ). Because of its proximity to the National Park it’s pretty common to see deer and their larger cousins, elk wandering through town.  The best known of these elk was Samson. He attained celebrity status thanks to his size and demeanor. The 1000+ lb. gentle giant roamed the streets and wild areas of town amusing visitors and locals alike. His antlers sported seven points on one side and nine on the other, making him easily recognizable And because he lived on a campground property he met a lot of visitors. Samson is ...

The Search and Rescue Dog Memorial in West Orange New Jersey pays tribute to the dogs who found survivors after the attack on the World Trade Center. Photo Credit: NJ.com Bretagne and handler Denise Corlis. Photo Credit BARk On this September 11th I wanted to briefly post about one of the memorials dedicated to the rescuers who risked their lives to save the survivors of that horrible event. I’m not going to rehash the events of the terrorist attack on New York and Washington DC that occurred 17 years ago. However, anyone who watched the response live or has spent any time watching documentaries and other video of it knows that an indispensable part of the search and rescue (SAR) response was dogs. About 350 SAR dogs from New York, New Jersey, and eventually the rest of the country came to the towers to help locate survivors and bodies. The dogs and their handlers searched 16 acres of dangerous wreckage. It’s impossible to say how many lives were saved by the dogs, but certa...

Dizzy appears alert, awaiting his master's call to bring the next load of lights up the mountain. Author's Collection Warning: This may be part one of Dizzy's story. I have reached out to a couple of people in Palmer Lake (including the statue's artist) to learn more. If I hear back I'll add a new Dizzy entry. I haven't had a chance to write here lately. I've been too busy. If you're actually following this blog regularly please accept my apology for the time you waited for this entry. "Come Dizzy" Donna Arndt, Palmer Lake Historical Society 2006. Author's Collection I visited Palmer Lake recently to see the monument to Dizzy the dog. Dizzy is remembered with an amazing bronze in the small park between Palmer Lake’s Historic Society and Town Hall. Dizzy's statue is the finest, most detailed statue that I've seen so far in my quest to visit memorials to animals. Dizzy is also the first monument I've talked about to a...

Secretariat's statue at Belmont Park has a history almost as amazing as the horse's abilities. New York Times photo Today the Belmont Stakes is taking place in Elmont, New York very soon. The favorite is Triple Crown hopeful Justify. In case you're not a fan of the sport of kings, I'll translate: there's a big horse race today; Justify has already won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Odds-makers think he'll win this one too. There are so many stories that we can look during the run up to a big race like this. I'd like to take the opportunity to discuss the memorial statues that surround the sport in the U.S. and one statue in particular, the statue of Secretariat, a past Triple Crown winner, that sits in the paddock at Belmont Park. This is the first horse memorial that I've covered in the blog. That probably betrays a bias of mine. I'm a dog person. Don't get me wrong, I like horses and even spent some time at a racetrack with ...

The grave of US Army dog Sgt. Geronimo in the historic Denver Pet Cemetery. Author's Collection  Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day we remember those who have fallen in the defense of our country. You can find a memorial to lost service members in every city and state in the United States. Some memorialize a specific event, platoon, or branch of the military. There are also a surprising number of memorials to war dogs. These military working dogs (MWD) did a variety of jobs in the military, including sniffing for explosives, tracking, guard duty and more. Many of the memorials specifically reference the Vietnam war, where dogs were helpful in navigating dense jungles, locating landmines and guarding sleeping men. I wanted to take some time today to mention a few of the memorials around the US that are dedicated to war dogs. Then I'll talk about visiting the grave of Sergeant Geronimo, a site near me that commemorates an interesting military dog. A select ...