In Memory Of

Brandon

Beloved Friend of Steven Cooper

and

Joyce and Robert Hoffman

Christmas 2005 was not as happy as it could have been, due to the passing of Steve's beloved pet and companion of 15 years, Brandon. Brandon had been getting weaker over a long period and, when Steve (Joyce's son) came to visit for Christmas, it was apparent that Brandon was in his final days. We got him some baby food, which perked him up temporarily, but he could barely walk and had no energy at all. On December 24th, Steve was in a quandary, not knowing how he was going to decide when it was Brandon's time. When Brandon was unable to eat anything or even stand up, Steve decided to contact our local vet. Thank goodness for the Animal Emergency and Critical Care Center of Brevard (321-725-5365). It seems that pets are like children, if they're going to have an emergency, it's always at night, weekend, or holiday.

About mid-day on Christmas Eve day, Steve wrapped Brandon in a blanket and made the trip down to the clinic. He insisted on going alone, so Joyce and I stayed home and waited for word. Within a very short time, Joyce got a call from Steve. He said he had gotten to the clinic and carried Brandon in, then suddenly, Brandon started convulsing. Steve yelled for the doctor, who immediately came out and took Brandon. He gave Brandon a shot to relieve his pain and he passed away in a few seconds. Steve was so thankful that he had made his decision when he did and that the clinic was available and so caring and understanding.

Brandon has been Steve's constant companion for over 1/3 of Steve's life. When he was young, Brandon was always on the move. I recall when he first got together with our Shih Tzu, Panda, he just about drove her crazy. Although she was just a few years older, she was much more reserved and not nearly as active. His jumping around, sniffing, exploring, and excited actions were more then she wanted to tolerate. She let him know several times that enough was enough! When he wasn't jumping around, one of his favorite positions was sitting up in his most effective begging position. Seems that he could sit like that for hours .. patiently waiting for a treat that he knew would eventually appear.

Steve called us once to tell us about a new trick that Brandon had learned. He had received a package packed with those styrofoam peanuts and had dumped the peanuts into a large paper bag. Later, he had been throwing Brandon's ball for him, when it accidentally bounced right into the paper bag. Undaunted, Brandon dove head-first into the bag, disappeared completely, then immediately emerged with the ball in his mouth, jumping back out of the bag without losing a single peanut! Steve was laughing so hard on the phone that he could barely tell the story. He said they spent the afternoon, playing with that bag of peanuts. Too bad the funny home videos show wasn't on back then - that antic would certainly have been a prize-winner.

When Brandon was about 9 years old, Steve decided that he should experience the joy of sex while he was still young. He found a likely mate and took Brandon for a visit. All worked well and Steve took the pick of the litter, a little male he named Cameron. When we'd go to visit, it was almost impossible to tell the two apart. The main difference was that, where formerly Brandon had been the aggravator and Panda the aggravatee, now Cameron was the young, bouncy child and Brandon filled the role of the older, quieter, usually patient, parent. Cameron managed to continue this mode of aggravating Brandon for the next 6 years, and Brandon mostly just tolerated him.

Pictured here with his son, Cameron, the gray around Brandon's nose betrays his age. One has only to look at Cameron to see exactly how Brandon looked just a few years ago. This photo was taken when they visited us this past Thanksgiving. At that time, Brandon was still bouncy now and then, but was having trouble getting up on furniture. When he was young, there was seldom a sofa, chair, or bed that was too high for him to land on easily. During his Thanksgiving visit, we noticed now and then that he had trouble getting to where he wanted to be.

Brandon and Cameron (Click photo to Enlarge)

We're all going to miss this little "weenie dog." Although his independence and stubbornness often caused Steve some trial and tribulation, he was most often just a faithful companion and ever energetic friend. He would chase a ball and return it until your arm was about to fall off, or would lay in your lap quietly for hours. He brought joy and laughter to all who met him and I'm sure all of the Star Trek crowd are going to miss him dearly. I know that Joyce and I, his loving "grandparents", certainly will. We're all thankful for Cameron, however, who will somewhat fill the void in Steve's life.

Brandon and Cameron again (Click photo to Enlarge)

I thought I could get through this without tearing up, but such seems not to be the case, so I'll close now with a simple .... Good-bye ... Dear Brandon