We met him one early May evening in 2011. We had been trying to obtain a puppy from the breeder of our first Belgian Tervuren, Cognac, but a litter was not going to be possible that year. She told us of another breeder’s nearly sold-out litter, called her to verify there were still unsold puppies, then off we went to the other side of the State to see them.
Upon arrival, we were introduced to a very animated pup who couldn’t get enough snuggling and couldn’t stop licking us. As we had been told that there were two puppies available, I asked where the other one was. The breeder said that he was probably playing with her horses or other farm animals. She went to the door and called out “puppy, puppy, puppy”. He came running to the farmhouse, and while we waited for him, we were told that he was the smallest, or runt, of the litter and a “wild child”. He proved to be curious and attentive, a 4-month-old puppy that could be called in from free ranging on the farm, and so cute with a black masked face that we decided to take him home with us. His facial markings were reminiscent of the funny paper crime fighter, the Phantom, hence his name. He spent the entire trip home in Debbie’s lap, staring at me.
Even though he was the runt of the litter, Phantom was not a small puppy and from the very first day we noticed a phenomenon that would characterize him throughout his life; people and animals were drawn to him.
Deer who frequent our yard were not frightened by his presence, and one or two would get nose-to-nose with him on occasion. On his first visit to the veterinarian, she told us that she fell in love with him and asked if we would take a photo of him that she could display in the clinic.
In later years we took him to the Farmington Hills William Grace Dog Park where he was known as “King of the Park”. There, he was fast enough to keep pace with greyhounds on the run. If someone brought a toy into the Dog Park (not allowed) he would grab it and play “keep away” from the other dogs and their owners. The Phantom also did not allow fighting in his park. Scrapping dogs would cease their fight rather than take him on. The funny thing about this is that he never had to fight. He merely ran over to the combatants and barked a couple of times. For some reason none of them ever challenged him.
The Phantom had one more idiosyncrasy that for some owners would have been a problem, but for us was only a minor inconvenience, severe separation anxiety. It manifested itself as a refusal to eat in our absence, which wasn’t a real problem for an afternoon away from us but prevented us from boarding him for any length of time. So, he went everywhere with us, from local parks forest hikes to two-week long explorations of the mountains and back country of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We’ve seen every fortress in the State as well as most of the 100 Michigan U.P. waterfalls, but his favorite activities were walking in our neighborhood, riding in the car, visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Indiana, and going to the Farmington Farmers and Artisans Market. Phantom began his socialization with other dogs in puppy obedience school, but he did his graduate work at the Market where he had a regular following of people and more than one hundred dogs every Saturday.

The Phantom was a very special being. He was our child, friend, confidante, and protector and yet he was the sweetest dog we’ve ever known.

Attentive and loving, Phantom was only truly happy when we were all together. Now our hearts are broken. Fortunately, we have our memories to warm us, and the paw prints that Phantom has left behind on our hearts to heal us.
Rest in peace dear friend.