RIP Wyatt the wonder dog

Wyatt the Protector aka Wonder dog aka WD40 was born in Irondale Alabama in the Fall of 2000. He came to live with us as a replacement dog for my daughter, Jazmyn. She had just recently lost her four year old bff Basquaite. I already had two dogs at the time, Beau Beau my old chow/rot mix and Hoyt, a pure bred Husky I was training. One day while teaching Hoyt commands I looked over to see Wyatt doing everything I was asking Hoyt to do. From that day on Wyatt, Hoyt and I went everywhere together as Beau had retired to the river place and was living with Jaz’s grandfather and he chose not to ride anymore.

That summer Wyatt surprised everyone by not only riding in the boat while towing kids behind, he became a sharp lookout and got his sea legs immediately. Then he blew everybody’s mind when he jumped out of the boat as we pulled in to the dock to swap kids on the raft. Was he tired of it? No, he jumped on the big raft in the middle of the kids and rode there most of the day. Unfortunately that summer we lost both Beau to old age and Hoyt to a freak accident. Wyatt was now the top dog and he never stumbled from that position.

From that summer of 2003 till 2013 Wyatt basically lived in the back of one truck or another of mine. I never had a tool or anything stolen from the back of a truck while he was on duty. Some people almost lost fingers though Im sure. Truck Dog!
Always at work , always ready to go, never complaining, all he asked was one bite of that samwhich! He became a fixture in the local Birmingham construction scene. Always in the back of the truck barking to everyone and everything. In the winters he would be especially cool with his fancy red jacket his grandmother had given him. Around this time he received the nickname “WD40”. Someone on a job somewhere said , “Look there’s WD40”. When asked why WD40 the reply was “With that face he will grease you out of your whole damn samwhich if you let him”! This is also a fact told by more than one of his caver family and friends. His tail would be wagging harder if he ever saw Hazard ’cause he knew there might be a skillet on the ground waiting to be cleaned. Leigh learned the hard way more than once not to leave a plate unguarded around him, he was slick!

Wyatt loved all his family and friends dearly and so do I. Each of you who knew him knew that he was more than special to me. He represented the best in my life, was right beside me through some of the worst of it and he always inspired me to be a better man. I am eternally grateful for his guidance, patience, loyalty, and unconditional love he showered upon me and all those he loved. A perfect example of all that is brave, loyal, and true in this life. I know Father of Creation and Mother Nature got some big projects underway ’cause they called on the best supervisor and friend anyone could ask for.

His earthly vehicle is placed at rest in Tennessee at his favorite spot on this planet. Under a hemlock on a hill, atop the Cumberland Plateau, next to his old pal Chloe cat.

Loves Furever

Dad