All Dogs go to Heaven

When Mongrel co-owner Stan McCulloch brought his new puppy into the popular Carytown store, then called CardsCardsCards, he knew that 1-year-old Clara was right where she needed to be.

"On the very first day we opened the store and unlocked the door, Clara had the natural sense of being a store dog," McCulloch said.

Immediately making herself comfortable, Clara lay down behind the counters, cozying a spot for herself and continued to do so every day she was in the eclectic gift shop for the next 14 years. And it was not long before Clara built herself a fan club of loyal customers coming into the store just as much for her as for the shopping.

"Customers would come in with biscuits in their purses or pockets," McCulloch said. "She had a relationship with them."

McCulloch points out that she was almost like a person.

"She knew people's voices and if Clara heard someone she recognized, she'd go out and find them in the store."

Clara was particularly great with young children.

"She would become real still," said McCulloch, "not moving a muscle and would let the kids come to her. So it was really cool for parents that wanted to let their kids get to know dogs."

It was Clara's sensitive character that made her so beloved by everyone. Believed to be a mix between a Labrador and Border collie, Clara had the patience, kindliness and dedication that makes customer service an intimate relationship.

So when old age crept upon her and Clara became deaf with kidney failure, arthritis and, more recently, mild dementia, the decision that led to her euthanasia a few weeks ago was not easy.

"When she passed away," explained McCulloch, "I wanted her to go out with some dignity and not be completely, you know, incapacitated."

In the beginning, he could see the sickness affecting her slowly. The first day McCulloch realized Clara's deafness was a couple of years ago. He was giving her some usual directional orders and saw that Clara wasn't responding. So he gave the orders again, becoming frustrated when she didn't respond to the commands. Once he realized there was something seriously wrong, McCulloch took her to the vet and learned that she was deaf.

"Clara picked up hand signals really quickly," said McCulloch. "She was just looking, trying to discern so hard what to do. She was so responsive."

Toward the very end of her life, however, the sickness started worsening quickly, first within months, then weeks. By the last few days of her life, she could hardly move.

McCulloch gives high credit to the doctors at Cary Street Veterinary Clinic for helping him with her sickness.

"They were just incredible," he said.

After Clara passed away, Lisa Cumbey, who designed the Mongrel logo and does advertising for the store, made a poster announcing the passing of Carytown's favorite mascot. It hangs at the entrance of the shop door to let customers know of the loss.

McCulloch points out that there have been many earnest and concerned responses. To many, Clara was the identity of the store itself.

"She was possibly the Grand Dame of creature mascots in the Carytown corridor, ruling with a quiet, elegant authority," Cumbey added.

And over the course of Clara's life, it was her continued authority and devotion that truly helped to shape the Mongrel store identity.

"The name Mongrel, it reflects Clara," McCulloch said.

And apparently, the name isn't the only essence of her that lives on.

For the Mongrel staff, and their loyal following of customers, Clara will always be the emblem of the Mongrel spirit.

And for McCulloch, Clara was more than a mascot.

"She was a true companion."

All Dogs go to Heaven

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