I was sitting at the Ravenna Tavern way back in 2003, drinking beer and filling my lungs with second hand smoke, when I noticed a tall fellow with long hair staring at me. His eyes were intent on something, (later he told me he was checking me out because I looked "like a psycho"). I thought he was an ass tack looking for a date, or a fight. Below him on the floor, sitting calmly, surveying the room, was his dog, a big Sheppard mix of some kind, with a startling, and instantly recognizable intelligence. It was obvious the dog was taking the man out for play time and was patiently waiting for him to drink his fill.
The tall man with the curious stare was Harrison "DJ DOC SUPERFREAK" Rommel, and the majestic pup, was Omar the Great. The greatest dog who ever lived. At 14, Omar recently died in his sleep...we all lost an incredible friend.
Some diads are perfection; Harry and Omar were like Hendrix and his Strat; they were meant to be together. Harry told me he knew Omar was his dog when he sat calmly in his tiny cage as other death row inmates at the animal shelter barked, growled and paced. "It was like he was waiting for me to show up".
Omar was a mountain dog. Harry took him climbing in New Mexico, Colorado and Washington. I went on a "hike", as Harry called our 12 hour torture-fest up Mt. Pugh, with Omar, who chased marmots all day long and sprinted up to the top and back down without assistance on a trek that damn near killed me.
Omar's greatness was many things...but the most unique thing about him was his otherworldly intelligence. When Harry started dating a woman (who turned out to be a pain in the ass), Omar vanished on the morning of her first overnight, and ran to an X-girlfriends house, who walked Omar back to his apartment to find Harry and Miss Lunatic having breakfast...this was Omar's vote on the new flame. Omar could coax a treat out of the most jaded bartender by making his eyes get bigger, so it looked like he was about to cry! He once guarded a disabled child all day long at a park where he could have been rolling in pooh, or chewing on dead things like most dogs; instead, Omar never left the girls side, and would block anyone who approached her. He was practical as well...once jabbing me with his nose until I woke up and got off the couch I'd passed out on, it was his couch and it was noon, time for me to go.
I swear he walked through walls...he could get out of a locked house any time he pleased and we could never figure out how in the hell he did it...my amazing pal, the ancient Buddhist monk in a beautiful dog's body. He will be deeply missed by everyone who ever knew him.
