Community Corner

Birmingham Loses Leo, Its Canine Ambassador

Area dog owner receives an outpouring of condolences over the death of her dog, which was hit by a car Friday morning.

To the residents of Birmingham, he was the city’s unofficial “ambassador.” To his owner's friends, he was a really good dog.

To Keena Catanzaro, he was her best friend.

Leo, the familiar yellow lab and chow mix who spent most of his mornings patiently sitting outside , died after being hit by a car Friday morning. Those who loved the dog are determined not to let Leo's memory be forgotten.

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“I’ve never been attached to a dog, but I was attached to Leo,” said Gary Laskowsky, an optical sales representative from Bloomfield Hills. “He was just a part of Birmingham.”

According to Laskowsky, he and a group of people gather almost every morning at Einstein’s to talk, sip coffee and begin the day — the “table of wisdom and knowledge,” Laskowsky said. Leo’s owner, Catanzaro, a real estate agent with RE/MAX, has been a part of this group for years. She always brought Leo with her, Laskowsky said.

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After Leo was killed last Friday, that group of friends responded. Dozens of people have come to Catanzaro’s home, offering their condolences, Laskowsky said.

“It’s a real heart-wrenching deal,” Laskowsky said. “It’s like losing one of your kids. ... One of our friends, Bill, when he heard, you would have thought his house was on fire.”

There are dozens of stories about Leo, depending on whom you ask.

“Everyone hugged Leo,” Laskowsky said. “You could be having the worst day going, and you see Leo … and he just gets you pumped up.”

But whether it was Leo’s addiction to food or the way he loved riding in the car, it’s Catanzaro who, even though her voice cracks in the telling, has the most memories. Even the story of how Catanzaro came to adopt Leo is worth telling, she said.

Leo was discovered in an animal shelter by Catanzaro’s mother five years ago; he was a stray that had been picked up by dog catchers in Hastings, MI. Her mother was there to find a smaller dog for a friend, but couldn’t tear herself away from the silent yellow lab who simply sat and watched her walk around the shelter.

For days, Catanzaro said her mother — a “lover of anything who doesn’t have a home” — called everyone she knew, asking if anyone wanted a dog. It wasn’t until the following weekend that Cantanzaro caved and took Leo in. Her father never let her mother go back into the animal shelter again, Catanzaro said, laughing.

It took Catanzaro a few weeks to train Leo, who was 1 1/2 years old at the time. Leo was afraid of everything from going into strange rooms to to going up and down steps.

But Leo was a quick learner, and the dog became known around town for its patience and gentle spirit. Though Leo would sit for hours outside Einstein’s, Laskowsky said Leo never barked. He let children hug him and passersby pet him.

Laskowsky said one woman, June, who walks into town from Lincoln Avenue almost every day, never forgot Leo’s dog bone. Catanzaro said Leo would have June spotted when she was two blocks away, and because of June's generosity, Catanzaro never had to buy Leo snacks.

Leo died on Friday morning. Catanzaro let Leo outside, as she always did. He caught sight of a bird and bounded into the side yard, which faced Maple Road. The next time Catanzaro looked, Leo was lying in the road.

Catanzaro said she froze. The driver who hit Leo had already driven away, but another driver and two runners stopped and helped carry Leo back into the yard.  Laskowsky and another regular at the table of wisdom of knowledge, Margot Campbell, paid to have Leo cremated.

Catanzaro said she’s not sure when she will get another dog. A close friend has already offered to buy her another dog, but she said she will probably wait until the pain goes away.

“He turned out to be just a great, great dog,” she said.


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