From everyone at Dogstuff.

Rick Fish with his dog Skip

Obituary
Richard Lowell Fish

Richard Fish, 64, died on Oct. 24, 2011 at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House after a short but determined fight against small-cell lung cancer.

Rick was born Dec. 12, 1946 at Eglin Air Force Base, FL and grew up in an Air Force family. He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio and studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. His childhood and youth were spent on Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands; in Arlington, VA; Waipahu, Hawaii; Tokyo, Japan; and San Antonio, TX.

Rick was an astute observer of state and national politics with an unsurpassed ability to put words on feelings about the public interest. He was a well-known State Capitol reporter and during an 18-year career reported for the Austin American-Statesman, Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News. He married his wife Jane Allen Fish in 1984 and he left journalism to join her in business ventures.

Jane was the love of his life and he was devoted to her and her passions. Most of their pursuits centered around their love of dogs. They founded Source Menagerie, a gift store for dog lovers in North Austin, then jumped into the Internet era with its Dogstuff.com web site, which has shipped items to dog lovers from New Zealand to Ukraine since 1994.

Their Golden Retriever Ch. Zia Ginge Mr. Moonlight (Scotty), took Best of Breed at the Westminster Kennel Club in 1996, and both Scotty and his son Shaq, Ch. Sallyran Take It To the Limit, were the number-one conformation Golden Retrievers for two years each. Shaq won the Golden Retriever Club National Specialty in both 1998 and 1999.

Their other Best in Show dog, Ch. Malagold Stars-N-Stripes (Striper) figures prominently in their breeding program along with Scotty and Shaq, producing Goldens with correct structure, movement, beauty and a true Golden temperament. The Fishes also own Onion Creek Boarding Kennel in Buda, TX.

For many years Rick and Jane lived on Washington Square, near the University of Texas, until their home burned down in November, 2000. After they were delayed in rebuilding, they moved to acreage outside of Elgin, where they enjoyed living with their dozen Golden Retrievers.

Rick’s involvement with Golden Retrievers took him into the world of dog rescue. He was known to jump in his car and drive almost anywhere in the country to save a dog on death row, and he helped evacuate Katrina survivors in advance of Hurricane Rita. Another rescue involved Rick’s helping transport 18 ill and abused Labrador Retrievers from the Houston area to Heart of Texas Lab Rescue here in Austin.

Their dogs became, variously, show dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, seeing-eye dogs and other certified assistance dogs, therapy dogs and companion animals. “All of them, first and foremost, though, are the loving companions of some lucky humans,” he wrote in his dogstuff.com “Dog Blog.”

Rick and Jane divided their time for 15 years between Austin and Bristol, Tennessee so that Rick could maintain his relationship to his young daughter, Katherine, who had moved there in 1985. In Bristol, they were members of Emmanuel Episcopal Church where they sang in the choir and led music at Vacation Bible School.

When they returned to Austin, they became members of St. David’s Episcopal Church.

When it became clear that Rick wasn’t recovering, “dog friends” flew in or drove from around the country to be at Jane’s side as she tried to help Rick in his last days.

Rick loved to sing and play the guitar. He also loved sailing and particularly enjoyed riding his BMW motorcycle all over the Southwest with close friends.

Rick was a brilliant man and read widely in many interests, from politics and world affairs to photography, music and anything MacIntosh. He was the Apple Guru to many of his friends and he loved helping them through each new step the technology took.

Rick had a phenomenal sense of humor and facility with words, with which he delighted all who knew him, most especially his wife Jane who was and is his biggest fan.

At his bedside at the time of his death were his wife Jane, his daughter Katherine, his brother Bill, his sister Susy, Jane’s sons Terry and Jim Lynch, a number of close friends and his dog Chip.

Many are the dogs who greeted him at the Rainbow Bridge – Scurry, Skip, Blitzen, Poppy, Taffee, Angel, Romeo and so many dogs he rescued from death row.

As his stepson Terry Lynch wrote on Rick’s CaringBridge site, “Words can neither express our sorrow for losing him nor our gratitude for his life. His strength, kindness, intelligence and unconditional love will never be forgotten. He was a good man.”

Rick is survived by his wife Jane, his daughter Katherine Rush, son-in-law Jason Rush; grandsons Alex and Wyatt Rush all of Bristol, TN.; stepsons Terrence Lynch and James Lynch, both of Austin; daughter-in-law Stephanie Lynch, and granddaughter Zoe Lynch of Austin; his brother Bill Fish and sister-in-law Melinda, of Pittsburgh, Penn., sister Susy Fish, of Great Falls, Va., and nephew Gavin McDermott. He was predeceased by his father Vinton Fish and mother, Gladys Morgan Fish, both of San Antonio. Also grieving the loss of their long-time dear friend are Jeff Buehner, Jack and Joanna Petersen and Ronnie Earle.

A celebration of Rick’s life will be held at a later date at St. David’s Episcopal Church, Austin.

The family wishes that those wanting to honor Rick and his extraordinary life consider a donation to Lucy’s Legacy Rescue Fund, Smiling Blue Skies Canine Cancer Fund, St. David’s Episcopal Church, or ProPublica Journalism Fund.

For more information on Rick’s illness and death and Rick’s favorite charities, please visit Caringbridge.org/visit/RickFish.

Lost in DC

See Prettier than Napoleon’s post for the details.

The quilt was assembled from blocks made by talented quilters across the country. This quilt is a true act of love through the donations and talents of Golden Retriever lovers. The quilt depicts the many aspects in the life and work of Golden Retrievers and their owners.

The quilt top is constructed using hand dyed batik fabrics of high quality cotton. The quilt measures 106″ x 106″ and will be a wonderful art display or bed quilt for the lucky winner. The quilt will have a pocket for a hanging rod should the winner choose to hang this work of art.

Detailed views of the quilting squares and raffle ticket information are here.

Proceeds will benefit the April Fund and the many rescued Golden Retrievers needing medical care. To learn more about the April Fund go to: http://goldenretrieverfoundation.org Thanks so much for your support..

The Labs got some too, and the Weims and the Goldens as well as dozens of other breed rescues and a number who rescue every sort of breed and pet.

Thanks to our 40,000 customers worldwide, dozens of dog and pet rescue organizations across the country shared more than $8,000 this Christmas season through the Rescue First program at Dogstuff.com . The guiding principle of Rescue First was that every purchase at the Dogstuff website created a donation for rescue. Customers were free to choose from any of the more than 100 rescues listed, and if they didn’t have a favorite, we chose one to feature each day and receive their donation.

These images are a very small sample of the rescues who already have benefited from Rescue First. To see if your favorite rescue is on our support list, check out our Rescue First Directory. From all of us at Dogstuff, thanks for being our customers and thanks for helping us help rescue.

Featuring Romeo and the pups at our previous location in Austin, when we were still called “Source Menagerie” (which no one could spell).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Welcome to dogblog.dogstuff.com. As we develop this blog, we plan to have stories about rescue, about your dog’s health, training and happiness, and some great dog stories from some great dog writers.