October 4, 2016

2007 2016
Hugh C. Wood
We come here to celebrate the life of Bruiser Wood. Who in my opinion and in my
familys opinion was the greatest dog who ever lived.
His short life was taken instantly by a car.
[As the wise man] said:
Naked I came from my mothers womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 1. 21:22
By claiming that Bruiser was the greatest dog who ever lived, I seek not to take anything
from my wife s dog Gretchen, my childhood dog Spot or our great Labrador Spot who lived a
long life and filled our heart with love.
But Bruiser in his own way was deeply, different, unique and special.
My wife for $200 saved him from a life of being sold at a Walmart in Texas.
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And, what a great life he entered into for the short 9 years that it lasted.
Though it took me a bit to warm up to Bruiser, he quickly won over the hearts and souls
of those whom he considered his pack.
He was written about in a poem by my child Parker.
B Bruiser Chihuahua;
R Rough Player;
U Unbelievably Big Ears;
I Icy Nose;
S Sweet Personality;
E Eats Everything; and,
R Really Sharp Teeth.
Every day he was the constant companion of my wife, riding on her left arm are keeping
lookout as the children were taken to school and collected.
He was the constant companion of his greatest friend in this world Spot Wood who
passed away some time ago.
He traveled many times to his home of Texas.
He traveled with us to my parents home in West Virginia frequently and spent countless
hours watching the scenery of the road pass by.
He traveled with us to the Saint Simons Island, Georgia and frolicked in the water.

Every night for eons he was my constant companion to ride in the car, to get groceries
and to prepare court briefs for the next days argument.
Every time we went you would have thought Bruiser was leaving for a long vacation
such was his intense enthusiasm.
Every time any of us came home he ran to greet us as though we had been gone for days
and it was his first encounter.

Catherine Wood 2016

He took turns sleeping with us and was a constant companion acting as a sentinel and
watching for anything that moved outside the house.
&&&
When I buried my beloved parents I did not feel the pain that I feel now as I read these
words to you. Perhaps because those passings were so anticipated.
&&&
Now I know the pain John Steinbeck felt when he buried his beloved Charley in 1961.i
Bruiser was our Charley.
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&&&
While the New Testament is silent on much of what happens on the other side we have
the well recorded short story of a simple teacher who lived in Borne Texas, in Kendall County ,
Texas not too far west of New Braunfels, Texas from where my wife comes and Bruiser was
found.
On December 30, 1993, at 1:35 pm, Jan Price had a nearly fatal heart attack in which she
experienced a wonderful Near Death Experience. Jan experienced many things on the other side
but to her absolute astonishment, when she crossed over there out of the fog came running to her
Maggi her beloved springer spaniel. Maggi had died less than a month before, and she and
her husband ached from Maggis absence.
Maggi told her that she had to go back because her husband could not stand the loss of
Maggi and his wife Jan. Jan and her husband later founded a foundation to help others through
loss and grief.
&&&
Therefore, I take comfort in the following: As Christians have said for 2,000 years and
Jews have said for 2,600 years at least from the revelations of Ezekiel received, I say:
&&&
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
&&&
We say good bye to you little friend, but none of us will ever forget you.
Until we meet again,
Good bye my dear friend, Bruiser Wood.

Hugh C. Wood
Atlanta, Georgia

Steinbeck, Charles. Travels with Charley, In Search of America. Viking Press. 1961. Nobel Prize in Literature.
1962.