Mr. Gonzmart established the Columbia
Restaurant Endowment for research at H. Lee Moffit Cancer Center and Research Institute in 2001. Using his passion for running, the annual “Richard’s Run For Life 5k” was created in 2002 to raise funds for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) sarcoma research and the Advanced Prostate Cancer Collaboration at Moffitt Cancer Center. It was no surprise that, at the end of Dr. Milner’s presentation, Mr. Gonzmart announced that he would be making a large donation to help support the important research UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine was doing. The meeting and subsequent discussions I had with others, helped me deal with my loss and feelings of helplessness. I start- ed thinking about reorganizing my life and found I had a compelling need to address things associated with Oliver as a means to close this chapter of my life. I went through the hundreds of photographs we had of Oliver and had some enlargements made. I created a file to write down memories about him, and wrote to people who had known Oliver. I gave his dish away to a neighbor and mailed his vitamins to a friend with a German Shepherd in Chicago. I sold Oliver’s “dog mobile” and reconstructed our bed off the floor. I also wrote to Colonel Oliver North in Washington, explaining the story of the Doberman Oliver North and asked him to autograph a photo of Oliver. I told Colonel North about Oliver’s life and how Shelane had originally obtained him while in the ROTC pro- gram at UCF. And that she was now a captain, deployed again after having done tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. A week later, the photo of Oliver was returned with an autograph from Colonel Oliver North. Everything relating to Oliver is now finished except for the memories. They are still too vivid and clear for me to fully comprehend that he is really gone from my physical life forever. Each day I continue to do the things that need to be done, but thoughts of Oliver are still in my mind and he occupies a large place in my heart. I look at photos of him and some- times even smell his collar. I keep telling myself time will lessen feelings of loss and to be grateful for the deep and special relationship I had with this extraor- dinary dog. My experience with him will define my existence for the rest of my life and that my best friend and partner, the Doberman Oliver North, will always be unforgettable.
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Summer/Fall 2016 THE NEW BARKER 33
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