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Yogi and Hollywood
This is Chad Stovall at 23.
Yogi's Story
One beautiful, warm day in February 1998, our son, Chad, age 23, decided to go canoeing with a friend. As they went over a dam, the current was too strong and pulled Chad under and the canoe followed. His friend was barely able to swim to shore. Chad was not as fortunate as his friend had been, however.
They searched for Chad. The Chief of Police nearly drowned going down to look for him. Chad was never found. My pain for the loss of my son was unbearable…My son had died…I felt so numb…Oh how I needed to find some peace within me…
A week after the memorial service something clicked in my mind and I told Jim, my husband - Chad’s father, that I had to have a Toy Fox Terrier (TFT) puppy. He said OK, so I started looking. I really can’t remember how I found the first breeder I called. I must have called at least eight and no one had any pups. The last breeder I called was John Davidson and he told me to contact Therese Fishman in Cleveland, Ohio. He thought she might have some pups. I called Therese and she had a little three-month-old male that she would sell me, if we would show him. I told my husband and he said, "Sure we can do that". She told me Yogi was $500. That was a shock because we didn’t know dogs would cost so much. So we had to think about it.
In a few days Jim’s brother sent us a check for $500 and told us to do what ever we wanted with it. There was our money, so I called Therese back and told her we would pick him up. We drove about ten hours from Macomb, Illinois to get Yogi and it was dark when we got to Therese’s house. The Fishman Family had another couple there visiting them concerning TFT’s, so we didn’t say much. We just picked up Yogi and left.
When I got in the car with Yogi I started crying and Yogi started licking me all over. I want everybody to know that when we saw him, we also thought he was the most beautiful little dog we had ever seen. I called Therese often and, as we became friends, I told her about our son’s death and how special Yogi was to us.
Whenever I sat down, he was right on my chest pressed in as close as possible. I had never experienced any dog that had so much love and personality. That is when we decided we needed to get a little female so that, through her, this would be one good living memorial and we could pass this love on to others. This would be our living memorial to Chad.
It was to be a perfect memorial for Chad as he always had animals, from snakes to pot bellied pigs. He had a special love for all animals. He was a unique, sensitive person. Chad also had a special love for all people. He suffered from Tourette Syndrome, but was so funny and well loved, that 800 people came to his memorial service. He was also in his last semester of college, majoring in Parks and Recreation
I want to add that a $12,000 Scholarship was given in Chad’s name at Western Illinois University. This is the main memorial fund that was formed in Chad’s honor.
Twice a year a student in the Parks and Recreation Department receives funds from the Scholarship in Chad’s memory.
I want to share a story that happened last summer. This story has convinced me that Chad knows all about Yogi and his blessings. We were traveling and Yogi slipped out from behind the front seat at a service station. I had just given all four of our TFT’s water and shut the car door. I assumed all four were in the back seat. About two hours down the road, I turned around. I had been sleeping and called for Yogi. He wasn’t there. Jim called the store and they had not seen Yogi. Jim said we were turning around and going back to look for him. He was that special and we had to find him. We called several more times and no one had seen him. I started to pray to God to protect Yogi, but I thought, "no I’m not going to bother God. I will ask Chad instead". So I said, "Chad if there is any way you can look out for this little guy until we get there, do it!"
When we got there, the woman at the service station had just spotted Yogi, and brought him into the store. I don’t know what he did for four hours. He could have been run over or taken by a stranger. To me this was a miracle. I was thinking if we lost Yogi, I would go into another depression. I didn’t think I would be able to handle it.
It has been five years since Chad’s death. My health has been good this last year because of the love of our TFT’s. After we lost Chad, I went into a severe depression and was in and out of the hospital because I cried all the time. The pain was so bad that I could hardly bare it. My little TFT’s felt all the pain I felt and they were always there for me. They couldn’t love me enough. They just knew I was hurting. I would want to die, but I couldn’t leave them behind. I could leave everyone else, but not them. Everyone else could take care of themselves but my TFT’s needed me. Then I would think how I could take them with me so I wouldn’t have to worry about leaving them. Then I would worry something wrong might happen. So I wouldn’t kill myself. Anti-depressants wouldn’t work and nothing else seemed to work either. Only my love for my little TFT’s gave me a reason to live. They got me out of bed every morning. Jim made me take care of them. He would go to work. Eventually, I had about 40 shock treatments. That worked for me. I also had the love of many friends and family members, but the ones that were always there for me were my little TFT’s.
Yogi has brought so many gorgeous babies into this world. They have gone out into homes and have no doubt blessed the people in those homes, bringing them much joy and love.
Now we have a new granddaughter too! We can hardly wait for Maya to play with Yogi and his girlfriends.
I thank the wonderful breeders that have bred these little dogs and have made them the wonderful little terriers that they are today. God works in mysterious ways and these little jewels are just one of the many blessings that are passed down to us. I am so grateful that we have been able to pass this blessing on to others through our breeding program. This is our continued living memorial to our beloved son, Chad, whose memory we will always love and cherish.
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Holly, Tom and Maya now live in Macomb, Ill. and are teaching at Western Illinois University. Maya now has Hollywood and a new bed partner.Tom, Maya, and Holly Christmas 2004
