In Memory of Grissom Throener
We lost our 10.5 year old boy last month to a very rapid-growing cancer; but that’s just the end of his story and not the most important part. The heart of his story was the five and a half years we remember so joyfully.
As a 20 year member of GRRIN, I have always said there are wonderful dogs in rescue. Grissom and his sister, Casey, are shining examples of this.
Grissom was true to his name, taken from the original CSI series, and like his namesake he was socially awkward and found bugs important (delicious). He had anxiety issues, a nervous smile that the surrendering owners mistook for aggression, a fear of loud noises (thunder, fireworks, strong winds), a fear of brooms, panic when his adoptive sister was getting too far away and an appreciation of Thunder Shirts and Rescue Remedy. Grissom would have been happiest if we could have worn him in a sling. A cuddler extraordinaire, he would lie down on you as you were lying down, kind of like a slow motion pairs skating move.
He was (typically) a very food focused dog; the highlight of his day was mealtime. If he broke his sit and had to move back into position, he moan-howled as he scooted backwards, eyes on the dish. We always said that his main concern in setting out for any event was that it be catered. And he had a drinking problem. He drooled gallons of water whenever he drank, a hairy portable water feature, appearing to lose as much as he took in. The floors were never really dry. His silly name was Sir Licks-a-Lot the Duke of Drool. And I called him Dude, and he would answer to it.
My favorite Grissom story happened when Casey had killed a couple of moles in the yard. She had one she was intent on eating and I asked Dan to get a carrot to trade her for it. He did so, with Grissom watching. I swear a brilliant light dawned in his eyes and he bolted off the porch to return with a dead mole, for all the world like he was saying “I didn’t know you could redeem these things for prizes”! He was so happy when he got his carrot.
If there is fairness in the universe, he is now free from all anxiety. And his afterlife is catered, lavishly.
