(Aug. 24, 2017) Berlin Main Street lost one of its mainstays when Brady, an affable golden retriever that spent a good portion of his life greeting people on the sidewalk outside of Williams TV Repair, died last Tuesday.
His owner, Grant Williams, set up a slide show of photos of Brady on a TV in the store window with the caption, “Brady, 2/28/02 to 8/15/17.”
The dog, known for his fluffy, mahogany coat and friendly demeanor, was bought from a breeder in Princess Anne.
“We were fortunate enough to get him not long after our first golden had passed and we enjoyed him for 15 and a half years and went on plenty of walks here through town,” Williams said on Monday.
Brady first took to lying on the sidewalk outside the shop in 2003 and, for more than a decade, could be found there almost every weekday as his owner worked inside.
“People would come back year after year to make sure he was still around. For 13 or 14 years, he was a fixture out there on the sidewalk,” Williams said. “People would say hello, and some of them were concerned there was no water in his bowl.”
Williams, for the record, kept a water dish for Brady just inside the shop.
“He enjoyed attention and [the sidewalk] was just some place comfortable,” Williams said. “People would always ask, ‘How do you get him to stay on the sidewalk?’ and ‘why doesn’t he go out in the road?’ Well, dad’s not out in the road and I taught him to stay in between the two light poles at the edges of our property.
“I think my wife, Linda, and I were fortunate enough to get a dog that was intelligent and was easy to train and listened well,” he added.
Brady suffered from arthritis in several of his joints during the last few years of his life. For much of this year, because of his declining health, he often stayed at home.
“Age just caught up with him and things started to shut down,” Williams said. “He had a little bit of a heart problem and his kidneys and liver were failing. It was just time.”
Williams said many people stopped in the store to express their condolences during the last week.
“They say they miss him,” he said, with tears in his eyes. “A lot of folks in town remember him.”
Between Brady and the previous dog, Willy, Williams and his wife have had a golden retriever in the house for the last quarter century.
Asked if they eventually planned to get another, Williams said, “probably so.”
His owner, Grant Williams, set up a slide show of photos of Brady on a TV in the store window with the caption, “Brady, 2/28/02 to 8/15/17.”
The dog, known for his fluffy, mahogany coat and friendly demeanor, was bought from a breeder in Princess Anne.
“We were fortunate enough to get him not long after our first golden had passed and we enjoyed him for 15 and a half years and went on plenty of walks here through town,” Williams said on Monday.
Brady first took to lying on the sidewalk outside the shop in 2003 and, for more than a decade, could be found there almost every weekday as his owner worked inside.
“People would come back year after year to make sure he was still around. For 13 or 14 years, he was a fixture out there on the sidewalk,” Williams said. “People would say hello, and some of them were concerned there was no water in his bowl.”
Williams, for the record, kept a water dish for Brady just inside the shop.
“He enjoyed attention and [the sidewalk] was just some place comfortable,” Williams said. “People would always ask, ‘How do you get him to stay on the sidewalk?’ and ‘why doesn’t he go out in the road?’ Well, dad’s not out in the road and I taught him to stay in between the two light poles at the edges of our property.
“I think my wife, Linda, and I were fortunate enough to get a dog that was intelligent and was easy to train and listened well,” he added.
Brady suffered from arthritis in several of his joints during the last few years of his life. For much of this year, because of his declining health, he often stayed at home.
“Age just caught up with him and things started to shut down,” Williams said. “He had a little bit of a heart problem and his kidneys and liver were failing. It was just time.”
Williams said many people stopped in the store to express their condolences during the last week.
“They say they miss him,” he said, with tears in his eyes. “A lot of folks in town remember him.”
Between Brady and the previous dog, Willy, Williams and his wife have had a golden retriever in the house for the last quarter century.
Asked if they eventually planned to get another, Williams said, “probably so.”