Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-10-04
200 Mourners
At The GraVe0f
Strdy003

Illinois OF Rock Island. The portly proprietor
leaning his elbows his glass showcase chatting
with customer. outside the rain falling in sheets
The door, which had been standing slightly ajar,
squeaked Both looked up. Pushing its through
the door raindrenched mongre The customer took
a step forward if to boot the dog out. The pooch
whimpered and Rugged the floor.
-"AW let i'm In" said the store owner. The
stepped back The dog, who presented
looking sight with his soaked flatagainst his head
whned gratefully and crawled underneath the magazine
the rest of the day he lay there wary watch
ing the customers in and out.
AT closing time it still pouring The kndhearted
proprietor put pan food water The dog CRATE
fully licked his hand he set the two dishes down. Then
and locked the door wondering all the
time whether he really should have let tramp stay III
his shop all night.
The next morning the animal waiting. wagging,
the door when the proprietor opened up Nothing had
Dredout, the dog presented less
sight the afternoon before but there mis-
taking it, pooch a homely and decrepit example
of dubious ancestry.
The night spent in the cigar store marked the begin
ming unusual life unusual dog Twenty years
passed that rainy afernoontwo decades during
which nondescrpt built himself into lovabe
personality well known as the mayor himself
During his first year in Rock Island Bozo-thats the
name one of the cigar store customers hung on him
stuck pretty his first benefactors shop Then he
began branching out He made practice of sleeping in
different cigar stores and pool halls downtown.
took of his in the police station
Nobody He everybodys friend. Bozo what
you might call the unofficial watchdog OF the Rock Island
business Whenever he slept in store the pro-
pretor burglars Police credited him with hav-
ing frightened providers more than one occasion
1t wasn't many years before Bozo became the towns
leading Columns of newspaper feature stories
were written about him. There wasn't kid in Rock
didn't know and love Bozo. In he was
nobodys dog He belonged to the whole blooming town.
Wherever he rambled, there a meal waiting His
favore trick however. to beg candy bars in the
cigar stores. He would take up position
candy counter and bark whenever he customer
making purchase 1t soon became standing joke that
it impossible to buy candy in Rock Island without
buying Bozo we'll More than likely he paid
result of increased candy sales
Bozo regarded candy bars like bones When he had his
confectionery to nearby lot and bury
On days when begging slim Bozo would slip over
TO the lot and dig of his boarded candy bars.
In Summer when the ferry between Rock Island and
Davenport Iowa. Bozo would make frequent trips across
the Mississippi 1t only seemed natural that Bozo should
ride the ferry whenever he wanted to and of the
tried to chase him off, He would simply go
down to the dock and jump the boat with the first
lowering of the gangplank Once in Davenport he'd roam
the streets for a while looking the town and then
bum his way back home on slater ferry.
On of his excursions-some 10 years ago-a Daven-
port dog catcher picked Bozo up Davenport detective
recognized the dog having him around the Rock
police He called the cops
long before a Rock Island policeman
baled Bozo out of the pound.
the good citizens Rock Island it seemed that
ovable old Bozo going go forever. But the
evtabe happened This Summer he became feeble lame,
partially blind Veterinarians there nothing
with him except the infrmities of old age.
His friends Of 20 years standing decided would be
best to end his misery by sending him TO the gas chamber
the made in papers that
Bozo TO be put to sleep of citizens offered to
take him
But Bozos friends knew he had lived his fun life
and reasoned that II would be best the aging dog
TO his final resting place. They took up collection
bought lot in a pet cemetery and a casket on the
day the funeral than 200 people made the So
mile round trip 10 the grave There more than
dozen floral pieces
1t raned on the day they lowered Bozos little oody into
the groundbut it far cry from that rainy day 20
years before when fearful and rainsoaSed mongrel
pushed way that little cigar store and into the
hearts of Rock Islands citizens.