Introducing Cosmo

Folks at Pat's Place know him. More people know his name at The Metropolitan (the new-ish condo building in downtown Skokie) than know my name. He was a hit amongst the Skokie July 4th paraders where, as they set up for the parade, he got petted by many, offered water and had his picture taken.

Meet my dog, Cosmo. We believe he is an Alaskan malamute mix, perhaps English Shepherd. We've been together since 1994, when he was a pup. My husband, Joel Lerner, was asked to take care of him for a while before his new owner took possession of him. After many weeks of Joel training and feeding him, and no sign of the new owner, we claimed him as his. He rarely barks, but does howl sometimes around the fourth time the phone rings or as fire engines go by. He gets along with everyone and most other dogs. He was friends in his early years with a Jack Russell so he's especially attracted to them.

This summer Cosmo is sporting his summer cut, but here's a picture of him with his winter coat.

If you see him out and about town, fear not and say hello.

Update: Cosmo passed away early evening on January 8, 2008. He was in his early 90's in dog years. We were just told he had cancer and some complications were causing him to suffer acutely which would kill him within the day.

The vet gave us no hope...and so we agreed to help him end his suffering. Joel and I are incredibly sad. We appreciated him so much. We knew this time was coming, but didn't think this was the time. He'd been very slow for maybe a month, but he'd always come back, and we thought he would again. Cosmo was a great dog. He was always good to us. Always watchful of me. Great with kids. He was beautiful on the outside too. Most neighbors, even the toughs down the block, would comment on this. He played well with other dogs.