Luther
9/24/1986 - 12/12/2003

A Tibetan Lhasa Apso, (little lion dog) he was physically well-made, graceful and delightful. Clever, proud, dapper, hardy, stubborn and independent, he was dignified, fearless, feisty, funny, mischievous, curious and affectionate. He abandoned himself wildly at play and indulged a 16 year long passion for yellow tennis balls.

An elegant urban creature who lounged as well as any sybarite on a pillow, he nonetheless loved the outdoors. Mornings and evenings he could be found trotting happily in Riverside or Central Park and in his last year, ambling around the salt marsh of Inwood Hill Park.

For many summers, he ran and played to exhaustion in the dunes and tidal flats of Provincetown. He swam in the Southhampton Little Fresh Pond and once jumped into and swam back and forth across the Charles River. Born in Ohio, he resided primarily in South Florida, Cape Cod, Cambridge and Manhattan.

He looked like a lap dog but had the soul of a bigger beast and would jump up to greet any Doberman or Rottweiler he met with a playful ear lick. In 1994, while chasing a ball, he escaped collision with a car near Harvard Yard by diving beneath it, suffering only a chipped tooth and punctured lip.

I was reluctant to have a dog. After being urged into a pet shop, I fell immediately and helplessly under his spell. He was a sweet, lyrical beast; intelligent and self-possessed, with a passionate, playful enjoyment of life.

I feel profoundly honoured to have been able to live with, look after and love him for more than 17 years.

alternate version with more photos