Milo the Community Dog was sadly hit by a vehicle and had to be put down. While this is tragic to my family; many others have experienced the very same tragedy. I don’t presume to think my situation is any worse than others, because it is not. A family dog was put down to ease his suffering and that is exactly what happened.
What did I get out my 4 ½ years with Milo?
Truth is; I don’t know if I would have found the success I had without him. Let’s face it, the station was a disaster. It had nobody in town to promote local events and in a town of 7500 that makes all the difference. The fact that I had this moniker with a dog certainly perked peoples ears up and then the begged the question “Is Milo real? Who is this guy with the dog on CKCR?”
Milo was very real. I got him about 12 days after my arrival in Revelstoke. I was living in a very questionable apartment that is notorious with the locals, and not the best place to set up shop (However, it was an excellent place to potty train him because it really didn’t make a difference if he pooped on the carpet. It blended right into the existing nastiness). I had to go for training in Vernon, and on my way home from my stint at SunFM I stopped “just to see” a few Puggle puppies on the way… I mean, after all…it was on the way home!
Needless to say, I came home unprepared with my new friend who they called Homer. I put a stop to that right quick. He was a Milo and anyone who knew him would agree. He was a cheeky trouble maker who would not listen (obviously) and did things on his terms despite three rounds of dog training school.
Apparently, he was the second most stubborn dog Sandy had ever trained. He knew the rules; he just actively chose to go his own way. How very James Dean.
“Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse.”
I did bring Milo to work every day, which was very true. It wasn’t until he started barking in the background and my boss happened to hear it and said “Its Shaun & Milo” and it stuck. He became the community dog. Milo, in my mind, represented something wholesome on the air. I don’t have all the creative control that I want. I would love to have my say, change things to suit the town and play a bit more country! However, Milo represented creative control. He was the only dog on the airwaves that would attend community events and was a part of the fieldtrips students had to the studio. In fact, Milo also made national news within Bell Media when an award was won for the “Where in Revelstoke is Randy Driediger Campaign.”
I loved to see how excited the kids of our community were when they would see Milo. They always asked if they could pet him and Milo being a loving Puggle, would embrace all the hands.
Lightning in a bottle. I doubt it would have worked in another market and I don’t think it would be as successful, nor would I try and duplicate the concept.
I also owe my marriage to Milo. One of the reasons I was able to begin my courtship (did you just say courtship, Shaun?) with Kirstin was due to the fact we both had dogs. Ellie and Milo were how we forged through the beginning nervousness in a fresh relationship and found love between the two of us. It was walking the dogs along the greenbelt over the summer of 2014 that led me to have the family that I have today. Would we have found love without the dogs? Possibly. With that said, it was the dogs that brought us together.
You go and lay with Ellie, Milo. She was waiting for you. Thank you for the 4 ½ years.
