Tribute to Lizzy
by Lori Weise
Today, Friday January 13th Lizzy my “OG” from the original pack of Downtown Dogs has passed away. She was estimated to be 18-19 years old. I met Lizzy 16 years ago when she lived with Benny, pictured here with Lizzy the Shepherd and Teri the pit bull.
What a great life she had. As a pup, she lived in a home and go to work with her owner who worked at Central Produce, every day until one day, she just didn’t want to go home anymore and began her 14 year adventure with Benny as his #1 Road Dog. Lizzy had a crush on Benny’s big black male pit bull named Iron Head who was a lot like Clancy and was the papa dog to my two original pups, Maya, who has passed and Yuki as well as Sandy’s Annie who has passed and Lezle’s Lucy. We all had Iron Head pups because at that time, Benny didn’t allow us to spay/neuter his dogs. Thankfully, Lizzy was spayed as a pup so she never had her own puppies but she raised a lot of litters of pups that Iron Head fathered and brought home.
What a different time it was. Benny had a spot in an alley, behind a gate, a hose for running water, an extension cord for a TV and a small shed with a bed where Lizzy and Iron Head and the rest of the dogs slept. As Benny called them, “The Night Ladies” came by to relax after a long night of work, to feel safe, wash their clothes, eat, watch tv and just hang out with the dogs until their pimp called them back to work. Lizzy saw it all, including the horrible event when Teri was cold heartedly shot by an LAPD officer, just missing Lizzy who lay close to her. Lizzy also was there when Benny was beaten unconsciously as she defended him and later was quarantined for biting a man. She attacked another man that tried to stab Benny. One thing for sure, Lizzy was a loyal old lady who never wore a collar until I made him license her and I never saw her on a leash, NEVER. She was a road dog who traveled from 7th and Mateo over to Soto and 4th over to 6th and Main and when Benny got too tired to walk home, he rode the bus and told Lizzy, “Go Home” and she did, often beating him back to the spot. I never saw Benny without Lizzy. Sure, I would be nervous sometimes when I would watch Benny crossing in traffic, across 7th street by the GreyHound station, Lizzy trailing behind him. It’s the life that she chose and the life she loved.
About two years ago, Benny became sick and I took Lizzy and her running mate, Freeway. In fact, right before I took her, another man living outside Pee Wee tried to keep her with him at the old Paper Plant but she had been to my office so many times with Benny that one day, she just ended up laying in front of my office door, right about the time I got off work at 4:00. I decided to go and get her one Sunday, stopped by Skid Row to holler at Benny and make sure that he was ok with me taking her. At that time, I wasn’t sure where I was going to keep her. So she lived in my office until she was too old to walk up the stairs last year, she came home to live out her last year with my dogs that she raised as pups, Maya and Yuki.
At my house, who knew that Lizzy loved to dig, she went on to tear out my aloe hedge, pull out all my succulents, and dig houses the size of trenches. She liked to lay in the sun and investigate the yard and most of all, she loved her soft bed and the warm heat in my house. She ran my house and was the shot caller for sure. Precious, Edwina and even Clancy bowed down to old lady, whatever Lizzy said was the law. Rarely did she bark, I don’t think I saw her wag her tail but a couple of times. She didn’t need to, her eyes told you everything you needed to know.
Today she made her transition and all I can say is that she showed me a side of life and kept me safe on the street when I was naïve and new to this whole world. There will never be another dog like Lizzy and I’m fortunate that I was part of her life. As Benny would always say, “Free at last, free at last” Lizzy is finally free may she rest in peace.
