Brisco County Jr.

Brisco and Maggie are reunited. Brisco the wonder dog died last night. We lost him last night very suddenly and without warning. At 16 he was old, very old, so we knew he didn't have a whole lot of time left; but he was begging for steak from the table one second and down the next. He had a seizure that lasted for the entire 20 minutes it took to digest what was happening, load him into the car and get him to the emergency vet. We knew it was grim and the vet confirmed that. The whole thing was over in less than an hour.

We sadly returned home and sat back down at the table and reminisced. I noted that the mailmen, raccoons and skunks of the Richmond district were going to sleep a little better now. Brisco County Jr.,  the great watch dog, always with one ear up and the other down, was off duty.

There are too many stories to share but the way Brisco was with Maggie was the most amazing thing. Maggie was 4 years old when we got Brisco and she spent a lot of time on the floor in those days. (It took a long time before she could tolerate being in the wheelchair for long stretches and this was before her skillful dynavox days.) She could sort of move around on the floor, propelling herself on her side using her legs. She was like a swimmer without water. If my purse was on the floor she would get to it and fling everything hither and yon. Newspapers left behind were quickly shredded to bits. This picture is from 2008.

We quickly learned to pick things up to avoid the mischief.  But Brisco was always there. And Maggie would get to him - or he would just lie next to her - and the ear, tail and fur pulling would commence. Brisco just sat there and let her do whatever she wanted. If the boys were nearby and tried the same thing, Brisco would have none of it, but Maggie had free reign. This picture is probably from about 2000 or 2001.

Brisco was very protective of Maggie. When someone new entered the house Brisco would casually stand between the visitor and Maggie. If they stayed, he would lay down next to Maggie. He wasn't threatening in a teeth baring or growling kind of way; he was more like the dad of a teenage girl and the visitor was the hapless date.

Brisco was the fastest dog in the park up until he was 10 or 11. Then he wasn't interested in chasing other dogs, he just became something of an elder statesman -- unless Maggie was with us, then he was at her side. And when he was on leash, which wasn't very often until his hearing started to go, he would let Maggie yank and drop the leash and he would be so so patient. 

Brisco missed Maggie these last months. The night before she died when she had been taken by ambulance to the hospital, Brisco sat right in front of the door to her room as if standing guard over her in abstentia. He slept there for several nights. I finally moved his bed into the dining room right next to the door to her room. 

Now they are together again. He is young and healthy and fast, she is able bodied and verbal. Maggie is telling him how much she loved him, but he already knew. He's just happy to be with her again. 

Thanks Brisco. You were the greatest dog in the world and we were lucky to have you. A wonder dog for the ages. Take care of Mag for us. 

Of all the gin joints in all the world...

   

Long long ago, in the time before Maggie, I had two active little boys and worked full time as an attorney. Life was just as crazy then as it is now, but for completely different reasons. Any working parent with two little kids knows what I mean. Your are running in five directions all the time.  You want to find way to spend as much time as you can with the kids because you are gone so much. That means your social life consists of play dates and kids entertainment. It was great, but we really looked for things that would entertain us and the boys at the same time. Sesame Street got old fast.

The first thing we found that we enjoyed together was a short lived television show called The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. It aired on Fox in 1993 and 1994; as a matter of fact, it ended just as Maggie was born.
Eddie was five and Tim was three when it was on the air. Brisco County Jr. was a bounty hunter in the old west, but there was a sci fi element to it, too. The show was hilarious. It was action packed and full of unexplained anachonisms. For example, I recall a sheriff in one of the towns was an Elvis impersonator. I still laugh when I think about that.  The boys loved the action and we loved the humor. Or was it the other way around? No matter.  It was something we all enjoyed together.  It was short lived, though. If my family likes a television show, you can almost put money on the fact that it will be cancelled. I guess we are just not mainstream enough.

Brisco County Jr had a huge impact on our family. If the name is familiar to you and you never heard of the show, you are not going crazy. That's our dog's full name, we call him Brisco for short. (We only use the full name when he's in trouble.)   He is named after the title character of that show, even though Brisco (the dog) didn't enter our family until 1998, four years after the show ended.. Most people mistakenly call him Frisco and I have to correct them. Once in a great while someone will ask, like Brisco County Jr.? And I reply, "precisely, " knowing that if they get that reference they very cool indeed.

  Tim, now approaching 21 years old, said he doesn't actually remember watching the show, but he knows he wore cowboy boots for five years because of Brisco County Jr. When his boots got too small he took over Eddie's.He ALWAYS wore them. ALWAYS. In fact here he is in shortly before his 4th birthday in the Spring of 1994 visiting Maggie in the Newborn Intensive care unit. We always had to scrub in and wear a hospital gown when we entered the unit.  Tim was rocking that look wearing the hospital gown and his cowboy boots.

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Brisco County Jr. was played by Bruce Campbell, (pictured above) who is currently starring in Burn Notice. He is one of those actors you see all the time. He's always working. He tends to be one everyone recognizes but can't say from where.  That is not true in this house because -- uhhhh well, he was Brisco County Jr. Hello! Are you paying attention. Also, as noted above, we might not be the average American family.

 Tim was sitting in his speech class the other day. He had already made his tribute speech and was  listening to a classmate make hers.  Tim immediately perked up when she referred to Burn Notice because she was talking about the guy who played Brisco County Jr. (Sorry, Mr. Campbell, but it's all about  Brisco) Tim listened with interest not believing someone else was sharing one of our family heroes. What were the chances that someone else shared our fascination with this guy.

Pretty good as it turns out.

Tim was sitting up straight in his chair, looking forward to telling her how much he loved this guy. He didn't get the chance.

As she wrapped up her speech she said,  "that's why I am paying tribute to MY DAD, Bruce Campbell."

Tim's jaw dropped (as did mine when he told me the story). He was so floored she got away before he could say anything. But he will see her in class on Monday. I wonder how often she has to deal with guys who have idolized her dad since before they can remember, who named their dog after his character and dressed like him as a kid.

It probably happens all the time.