MANGO – a very special soul in the body of an Australian Shepherd, enriched all of our lives for eleven years.
Mango was funny, intelligent, curious, stubborn, determined, cuddly and lovable.
He loved good French cheese and watermelon and hated bull dogs and getting shampooed.
Adam got him as a fluff ball of a puppy ~ and loved him passionately from the get go. Mango and Adam were inseparable during Adam’s high school years. Overall, Mango had a pretty blessed life.
In Chicago, Mango loved the winters and especially the snow and the cold weather. We went almost every weekend with him and Dwayne to the nature reserve which served as a huge dog park. He had a passion for fishing around the circumference of the small lake and in winter would go running, sliding and skating on top of the frozen lake with Dwayne.
When we (Peta and Ben), moved to Nicaragua, and Adam went to college, Mango and Dwayne moved with us. They both had to adjust to life in a tropical climate, just as we did. Life was definitely infinitely more interesting but it was also much hotter. Many trips to the beach, crater lake, Lake of Nicaragua and dips in our pool as well as buzz haircuts, helped Mango to deal with the heat.
When we lived In Granada Nicaragua, Mango was a well loved “celebrity” and could not walk down the street without people calling out to him constantly…. “Mango, Mango” or “osso” (bear) or “Mangito” or “peluche” (teddy bear.)
Mango’s best bud was Dwayne, whom he picked out from the shelter in Chicago as his mate, many years before. The two of them were a team and stuck together over the years, often accomplices in crime.
Mango loved Adam, his primary human connection, first and foremost. Ben and Oren second, with Peta coming in third.
Recently we finally managed to get Mango and Dwayne back home to Chicago after a long saga of an ordeal with airlines, crates and dollars. We arranged temporary homes for them when they first arrived.
Tragically, and heartbreaking for us, Mango got very ill and died soon after he returned home.
He will always be loved and remembered by all of us.
Rest in peace, Mango.
Photos from Chicago…..
At the beach in Highland Park, walking distance from our house. Without Mango we would never had had the amount of winter fun at the lake that we did!
Adam and Mango running on a frozen and icy beach.
Fall also brought out the best in Mango. Not only color wise, but he loved chasing the leaves we kicked up for him in the ravines.
Mango at Playa Coco Beach, Nicaragua. December 2014.
Mango with a fresh Nica haircut. Definitely his peluche (teddy bear) look.
MAN Nicaragua is hot!! Get me back to the cold Chicago winters, puhleese!
Enjoying the life! On a boat in San Juan del Sur.
Mango was a wonderful caregiver to many little kittens that we fostered back to health. On separate occasions 2 of our cats got lost. It was Mango the detective who managed to find them for us.
In his early life, Mango spent quite a bit of time chasing cats. He mellowed and became a great caregiver. He was also very clear about which cats were family and those that sneaked in for food and got chased…
Mango had many opportunities to be a foster “mom” to kittens and even a puppy.
Mango had no choice but to adapt to the life in Granada where kittens were a constant! These five were born to a feral cat (Georgia) on our rooftop. We kept one: Salvador. He and Mango were great buddies.
Princessa a street dog that adopted us and loved Mango dearly. She would put her nose into Mango’s mouth affectionately.
Peta gets a wet Mango kiss.
Adam and Mango: inseparable friends. Nicaragua at Maderas beach.
True love!
Oren, Mango and Dwayne at Gigante Beach, Nicaragua.
Mango was not small. He loved being picked up by Adam for a huge bear hug.
Mango and Adam taking a nap together.
Mango getting Shani’s attention.
Giving Mango a haircut was no small task. Much like shearing a sheep.
Pedro who took Mango for walks to the lake in Granada for four years, shampooing him on the street. This always drew quite a lot of attention. Not Mango’s favorite activity!
Taking the bus from Playa Coco. Mango had a rather high self esteem and refused to sit on the floor of the bus with Dwayne. He climbed right up next to Peta and refused to budge. The bus conductor charged him same as a person.
Going for one of the many walks in Granada. Outside our house Casa Hubbert’s Peak.
Granada streets with Mango and Dwayne.
Mango at Maderas Beach, Nicaragua. Mango you will be missed! We will always love you!
It’s sad to lose a friend.
So sorry to hear about Mango!! I was wondering how it was working out after you told me about the shipping from Nicaragua etc…
Love the pictures – Beautiful Mango!!
Hugs and love to all!
Sad story, but beautiful pictures of a great dog life.
Peta, and all … Our hearts are so sad for all of you. I didn’t even want to open this link when we saw the subject. Know that you’re in our hearts. You have so many wonderful memories, that sweet and precious doggie lived a glorious life with the best parents and brothers in the world. BIG, loving hugs from both of us to all of you. Love you dearly, C
Thank you so much Carol. He did live a gloriously happy life. I often thought about how lucky he was to have had so much love in his life, especially when I saw the many street dogs in Granada, that have so little human love and compassion.
What a wonderful life Mango had! He was so well cared for and showered with love from everyone. I’m glad to have shared in that love.
Dear Peta, Ben, Oren, Adam, and Josh,
I am so sad to hear about Mango passing. Ray and I got to love him very much while we lived with him and the rest of the zoo in Granada. We had been thinking about him and Dwayne a lot since they returned to Chicago, wondering how they were doing.
It is a consolation that he lived a happy life and was well cared for by people who loved him very much.
love,
charo
Thank you Charo for the lovely note. Thank you guys for taking such good care of him for a few weeks while you were in the house. Much love.
Peta and Ben, I’m so sorry to hear the news about Mango, but I’m so happy that he had you all as family in his time here! What a wonderful soul! Sending you many hugs.
I feel so lucky to have met, loved and enjoyed Mango on many occasions during his precious lifetime! The photo’s remind me what a true treasure he was.
My deepest sympathy to Adam, Dwayne, Peta, Ben, Josh and all those who will miss him forever!!
Lo
so sad to hear this news – Mango was a very special Pup! He saw me do my first split in YEARS in Nica… Very sad you guys had to let him go…
Thank you all so much for the sweet comments, and thank you Ben and Pete for the amazing tribute.
Mango enriched all of our lives and hopefully we enriched his as well. 🙂
So sorry to hear about Mango!! I was wondering how it was working out after you told me about the shipping from Nicaragua etc…
Love the pictures – Beautiful Mango!!
Hugs and love to all!
Thank you SO much to all of you for your heartfelt comments about Mango. He knew and loved many of you throughout the years.
Hey, what can we say?……. He was a VERY popular guy!
Ben and Peta
Very proud to have known him.
We loved Mango. We had so much fun with him and Dwayne in Chicago and twice in Nicaragua. We were so happy to share Mango’s last few days in Granada before he and Dwayne flew back to the US. It was so much fun taking them on walks. Mango was so human-like and always tried to peek inside the houses. Everyone on the street knew him and we felt like we were walking around with a movie star. We also loved hanging out with him at home – he always followed us around and he was great when we needed a hug or a cuddle. On the day Gili sent them on a plane back home we were both very sad, even just being with them for a few days we got so used to their presence. We were both very sad to hear that Mango passed away so soon after arriving home and re-uniting with Adam. But at least they got to spend a few weeks together and Mango sure had a full and interesting life, with many fans from all around the world! We’ll miss him.
Thank you Maya for this lovely tribute. Mango sure had a way of capturing people’s hearts everywhere he went. He was a very special character and we all miss him so much, always will!
My beautiful friend, so sorry for your sad loss. Your Mango will always be in your heart – that unconditional Love never leaves you. Big hugs to Oren, I truly feel for him – he has lost his best buddy. My love to all of you.
Franki
xxx
I have lots of great memories of Mango, what a dog… Speaking of his high self esteem, I remember when coming back from walks in Granada, he would always sneak in to the house ahead of Dwayne. I even tried to put Dwayne forward, but he would nudge him away and get in first. Walking through the market with Mango and Dwayne, the shouts of “me regalas tu perro” (give me your dog), and the questions about what kind of dog he is – everyone was very curious and excited about him (but not about poor old Dwayne…).
Yes, haha Mango’s high self esteem was part of the joy of his personality for sure…There were many in Granada who would also ask us if they could buy Mangos babies! He was very beautiful and got a LOT of attention, even in the U.S. and he loved it!
Mango just looked SO different to anything most people associated with what a dog looks like! Thanks Gili, for your comments and memories with Mango.
Mango- I am sure you are beaming from this tribute because you, the charismatic and most beloved dog could never get enough love! Or, you learned at a young age how freaking cute and lovable you are! My heart is always with you because you filled it FULL of love. I miss your fluff but I know you are still there.
Love,
Brook