Remembering a Legend

Girl 1995 - 2010


Shreveport, La - On Friday, February 26, 2010, Girl, the Dog passed away in her sleep. She died peacefully, warm and dry in her doghouse having lived to the full extent of her years and having lived every adventure a dog could ever hope to live. She was a legend in her own time, having crossed paths with thousands of people all over the United States. She will be remembered for her adventurous spirit, toughness, loving nature, and fear of thunderstorms.

Her adventures began on the Bee House Creek fourteen years ago, where she ran and explored with her owner Winston Hall, while he was still a child. While there, she chased rabbits, squirrels, and many other fuzzy woodland creatures. She twiced got attacked by a porcupine, surviving more than 100 quills shot into her face, tongue, and neck. She survived a near death experience with a waterfall, and once clobbered a dog twice her size in a fight.

She accompanied Winston to college, where they spent the better part of four years running and hiking. She spent many nights in the Ram Page office at Angelo State University, where she came to know all the Ram Page staff. She also landed the starring role in the short film Indiana Jones and Chasers of the Lost Dog (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyn9iAfM3ys) and received acclaim for her acting skills.

After college, she accompanied Winston to Wind River Ranch in Estes Park, Colorado, where she her earned her keep performing as a rodeo clown, herding horses, and guarding the ranch. While at Wind River, she survived getting kicked by a horse and yet another brush with death when a lightning bolt struck fifty feet away on a rock upon which she’d been standing minutes before.

One of her more famous encounters happened at Wind River when she confronted a bear that had been spooking everyone at the ranch. Girl snarled and growled and barked at the bear at which point it retreated into the woods never to be heard from again. She received extra meat scraps for her bravery. During the remainder of her time at Wind River, Girl met hundreds of guests and her notoriety spread throughout the United States.

After retiring from the guest ranching industry, Girl relocated to Waring, Texas, where she was famous for making the rounds around town while her owner was at work. Her favorite places to go included the Post Office, the Waring General Store, the Guadalupe River, Steaknite, and Servpro of the Hill Country. Kelton Fiedler, a Waring resident, noted that Girl was the only dog he ever met who “appeared to have an agenda.” Girl spent many afternoons on the porch of the Waring General Store greeting customers as they entered the store.

While living in the Texas Hill Country, Girl also appeared in a photo in the magazine Country Living. The magazine had a circulation of more than 50,000. And her notoriety grew.

After two years, Girl left her beloved Waring and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. While there, she caroused with big wigs who worked on Music Row and explored Civil War battlefields.

Her biggest adventure yet came when she moved from Nashville to Shreveport, Louisiana. Having mysteriously vanished from the back of Winston’s truck in Parker’s Crossing, Tennessee, Girl spent two weeks wandering aimlessly through the west Tenenssee country side before a goat farmer miraculously found her and contacted Winston.

Emaciated and tired, Girl made a new beginning in Shreveport, taking daily trips to the park and playing with her new brother Hart. Having succesfully reached old age, Girl spent many hours basking in the sunshine and then relocating to the shade when she grew too hot.

But her adventures were not over. While visiting her owner’s sister, Emily Sides, in April of 2008, Girl rode out an F2 tornado which destroyed a warehouse a block away. Later that year, while on a trip to her childhood home near the Bee House Creek, in a near-tragic case of mistaken identity, a local rancher confused Girl with a wild dog that had been killing his sheep. Wounded and bleeding, Girl stumbled back to the house where Winston discovered her and rushed her to the doctor. Miraculously, Girl survived yet another brush with death, having come within “inches of dying,” the vet said. The bullet went right between her shoulder blade and spine.

After recouperating from her wounds, Girl then accidentallly swallowed a fish hook while at a local park in Shreveport. One minor surgery later, and the hook was removed. The fish hook proved to be Girl’s last brush with disaster. She lived out the remainder of her days, peacefully, and happily, dying miraculously of old age in her doghouse at the age of fourteen.

She was buried beneath a shade tree at her childhood home in Central Texas, belonging now to the Ages. She lived, by all acounts, an epic life worthy of noting and remembering. She truly was, and is, a legend.

She is survived by her owner Winston Hall, dear friend Donna Chance, and her brother Hart.

Related Articles:

http://www.worldofwinston.blogspot.com/ "Celebrating a Legend" 4 July 2009
http://www.worldofwinston.blogspot.com/ "Goat, Cat, Dogs form Loose Political Affiliation,
Owner Shunned" 31 July 2006
http://www.worldofwinston.blogspot.com/ "Picnic Table Woes Result in Happy Dog,
Social Mishap" 7 July 2006
http://www.worldofwinston.blogspot.com/ "Old Dog Learns New Trick, Master Mourns Loss of Age-Old Colloquialism" 13 January 2006



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