Ode to Banjo!

He belonged to the whole neighborhood

We love dogs in Le Smidlap Chateau, especially boxer dogs. We just lost a good one in Banjo! and his passing deserves a few kind words of eulogy.

The Banj is our third boxer following on the heels of Travis and Apollo (Bubsy). I remember we travelled from Buffalo to East Syracuse, NY to adopt him from Second Chance Boxer Rescue in November of 2014. He looked to be around 2 years old and a little underweight. The rescue people told us he had been found as a stray in the nearby town of Lockport. Apparently a postal carrier found him and named him and got him to the rescue people. I always like the name but sadly could not take credit for the originality. Here he is in his skinny youth.

Our boy loved people right from the start and showed no interest in breaking free from us owners or from the house/yard once he settled into his new crib. That was a refreshing change from the early jailbreak ways of Apollo when we first adopted him. That dog had Mrs. Smidlap at her wit’s end in the beginning after he busted out a few times. Banjo! was a sharp contrast but came with a few bad ideas of his own, mostly around fear of dogs. With some help from the fine folks at the K9 Connection dog training center in Buffalo we straightened out those behaviors over a year or so.

Most anyone can teach a dog to walk well on a leash and come when you call, but if they have fear aggression with dogs you cannot rehab that without a pack of dogs. The whole process was very rewarding for me particularly as the lead trainer in the household. The best thing about adopting a younger dog for us was working on a few behaviors for the first year or year and a half and then pretty much having 8 easy years of a dog you could trust. We could have guest dogs in the house without worry and he barely needed a leash on the daily walk or in the park or on a hiking trail. Mostly in public I just let him drag around his little light slip lead in the park or the Bidwell Parkway grass median. That way I could pick up the leash if anyone seemed fearful of dogs. He would never approach anyone unless called.

He as also fearless. I remember taking on a hike up Goodnow Mountain the the Adirondacks and he walked right up to the top or the fire tower with me. All those open stairs or height didn’t bother him at all.

For all his lovable traits Banjo! was far from flawless and we accepted that. I always imagined a fine line between “good enough” discipline and training all the fun and enthusiasm out of a dog. We usually prefer to stop on the side of “good enough” much like other aspects of our lives. Although the time he peed on Big Lare’s coat at a Christmas party made us think we could have done a slightly better job.

Having a dog

When dogs get adopted into the Smidlap house I swear I think they win the lottery in many ways. They do not have to compete for attention with very much as Mrs. Smidlap is retired and I have very little on my to-do list after work and on weekends. So mostly Banjo! was just free to hang around Mary’s attic art studio while she created or just chill out on his own couch if that is what struck his fancy that day. Lots of people “have a dog or dogs” but we really interact with ours and they get all the attention without dividing it among raising children or the many obligations of a modern family. In that sense the dogs end up giving us as much as we give them.

They get two long walks per day which forces us to get outside into the fresh air and at least get a little exercise. Mary would do the morning walks and I would take the afternoons. I very much enjoyed the routine. MB told me Banjo! would hang out near the front window and start waiting for my arrival around 4:00 on work days. I would roll up around 4:18 come in the house for the usual enthusiastic greeting and then we would go out and tour the neighborhood. In the early days we would walk/run 3 miles of more to Delaware Park and back some days. The past few years when he started to slow down in his older age we mostly just walked the usual 8 blocks which came to just less than a mile and we were both fine with that.

A dog for the whole neighborhood

The last thing I will mention is how beloved Banjo! was for our whole Buffalo, NY neighborhood. He was friends with all walks of life, Black and White, Gay and Straight, Well Off and Down and Out. He knew ‘em all and they loved him and for that I am proud. We would see Cynthy the old lady 2 blocks from home. She just enjoys having someone to chat with for a few minutes.

One of Banjo’s favorite activities was seeing Sheryl and Robert near the corner of Ashland and West Ferry. They used to live in an apartment house with a huge front yard and would call out “Bannnnnjoooo!” from their front stoop and that dog would charge up to them at a full sprint across the yard from a block away. It was a pleasure sharing him with people who loved dogs but could not have one of their own for whatever reason.

He was pals with Eric who is well known in the neighborhood and walks around selling his homemade jewelry from a backpack. Banjo! could spot Eric from a distance and get excited until we got to him and Eric would sit down and essentially let the dog onto his lap for a few minutes. See how everybody wins? The next stop was to see the lady outside the dry cleaners and then on to Jason who lives next to the Bontinental tattoo shop. We really got to be pals with Ferrris and Mariah who adored that dog. They were outside often in nice weather and always had fresh water and treats available. Those two were real dog lovers and referred to the public dog water they put outside as “Banjo!’s water.”

The World Series and the Holidays

Banjo! died the week before Halloween of 2024, about 2 months ago. I have been a Los Angeles Dodgers fan since childhood and a week after he died my team won the World Series. Somehow the celebration was muted as the holidays have been this year. We sort of knew the end was year and could just put out a Facebook post and let people know. I swear the hardest part was taking that usual walk and letting his neighborhood friends know the news face to face.

One of the kindest things I have experience from relative strangers is the tribute from the fine folks at the Boninental after they learned of the bad news. Here are the pictures:

They put these right outside on the facade of the shop. I must say Mary and I were truly touched by the gesture. I guess that friendly mug and 100 mph wagging tail really had a positive impact on others aside from his owners/family. I think that’s pretty cool.

All in all I think Banjo! had a pretty good and long run with us. We are thankful for the time with our boy. Here is one last photo and if you ever met the dog remember that he loved you.