Brownie brought love to Long Island

By Joan Bennett of Westbrook

Having loved and lost many of my four legged friends over the years, I truly can empathize with those who have also grieved for their beloved pets.
My first rememberance of a animal who all my family loved is our throw away dog who wandered into our lives when I was about eight years old.
Brownie showed up on our doorstep one day and since he didn't have a collar and didn 't leave, we adopted him.
Brownie became a companion to each of us. When one of us took a walk in the woods, Brownie always came. At the time we didn't think he was protecting us but I'm sure he knew he was on duty.
Brownie would play with us, do tricks to show off, be friendly to people he trusted and warn us when he thought we were in danger. His most important quality was his loyalty to us children.
As kids we took the school bus to school about a mile and a half away from home. Brownie would meet us outside of our school when it let out and ride home with us on the bus. How he knew where we were and how he got there was always a mystery as we lived in the country and never brought him to town.
My Mom always believed in giving us, as kids, a lot of freedom to roam and discover things on our own and she let Brownie have his freedom too.
One day though when Brownie had been gone too long we began to worry. He was always home in time for his supper. This day he didn't show up, nor did he return that night. Our family was devastated.
As Brownie had wandered in one day, so had he wandered out. Whatever happened to him will always be the question without an answer.
To this day I call," Brownie where are you?"