Ophelia’s lifetime as a ‘dog for the ages’ immortalized by her owners

Ophelia, a black miniature pug, has died at the age of 12 years. She was deaf when my wife, Carol and I adopted her from the Julia Wagner Animal Shelter, and blind and otherwise infirm when advanced age caught up with her earlier this week.

Me: It never gets easier – 15 of my best friends to date have crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Who knows, maybe I’ll get to see them again someday. Or, so they say.

Carol: There’ll never be another Ophelia. She became “my dog” from the start. She was constantly in my lap and would follow me around up until her vision and hip problem made it difficult to move around. She enjoyed her life and did not hesitate to let us know when she was hungry or wanted to go to bed. I will never forget her sweet little face.

Ophelia during the springtime of her life with the Barrs – Barr Family Photos

Ophelia was about 10 weeks old, and I was 75, when she was plopped into my lap on a busy Saturday morning at the Wagner Animal Shelter. The staff and I (then president of the Humane Society of Warren County) were asked by executive director Jane Johnson to foster a pet over the weekend because of shelter over-crowding. That “weekend” lasted 12 years.

At the time we adopted the pup, we had a Japanese Chin named Hamlet and were trying to come up with a name for her.

“The answer is simple: You have a Hamlet and there’s no question that you should have an Ophelia.” This suggestion came from our Rockland neighbor and friend, Susan O’Kelly, a Brit who is well versed in the volumes of England’s William Shakespeare, including the play, “Hamlet,” and Hamlet’s love for Ophelia. Hamlet, the dog, died a year or so later, his final months made more tolerable by his chunky little girlfriend.

The diminutive Ophelia made her mark in the local community by helping establish “Yappy Hour”, a fundraiser for the animal shelter, 10 years ago at Vino E Formaggio on Front Royal’s Main Street. About that time, she was “bridesmaid” to restaurant entrepreneurs Rachel and Christian Failmezger, as they strolled down Main Street to their marriage ceremony at the Gazebo. Ophelia trotted proudly behind, a well taught (by me) publicity hound.

Ophelia’s “mid-life crisis” came when our son, then Staff Sgt. Malcolm Barr, Jr., U.S. Air Force, volunteered for duty in Iraq, leaving two huskies, Alfie and Lola, in our care while serving abroad. Asserting herself as only small dogs are prone to do, she became the unchallenged head of the (canine) household, a 15-pound bundle of energy versus two 70-pound invaders of her space.

Our friend, Dr. Roger Wilkes of the U.K, remarked via e-mail following her death that Ophelia was “a great character and very much the grand dame of the canines” at our home.

Aside from her adopted parents, Ophelia leaves behind two large four-footed friends, La Diva, a Siberian Husky, and Goose, a German Shepherd mix. Diva continues as a “hostess” at the newly evolved “Yappy Hour” each Friday at the ViNoVa Tapas Restaurant on East Main Street, from 6 to 8 p.m., to raise money for the Julia Wagner Animal Shelter.

Ophelia has been immortalized in paintings by local artists Kelly Walker and Helga Heiberg, which we proudly display in our home.

R.I.P. dear Ophelia.

Ophelia in the winter of her very special life – time to say goodnight, girl