Bereaved friends seek new home for Howey-in-the-Hills Great Pyrenees
In Howey-in-the-Hills, a three-musketeer-like friendship lives on despite the loss of one of its valiant compatriots, and two sibling dogs will hopefully have a new loving home, all thanks to the efforts of two bereaved friends.
Brook Heimbaugh, 59, was about to retire in Howey-in-the-Hills and even bought a house in the idyllic Lake County town to live near his longtime friends, Ginger Scott-Slater and Nick Ripostella. The trio were housemates in the Austin, Texas, area around 15 years ago. Heimbaugh died of esophageal cancer on April 1.
Over the past decade, Heimbaugh doted on his dogs and became active with a Great Pyrenees rescue group. Born March 2, 1965, Heimbaugh worked for IBM as a software engineer for around 25 years and visited his pals in Florida often, most recently during the winter holidays, some months after his diagnosis and surgery.
He brought his snow-white, meticulously groomed Great Pyrenees — Kodiak ,7, and Betty White, 9 — and he'd walk them along the banks of Little Lake Harris and fell in love with Lake County.
"He came here at Christmas with the big dogs," Ripostella recalled of Heimbaugh.
"He was thin and he had already had the operation where they take out your esophagus, and he had a feeding tube. When I saw him, I was a bit distraught because he lost a lot of weight. But, we hoped he'd make it. Ginger went to Texas to help him out in February. And when he came back here after that, they tried immunotherapy and it just didn't work, and the cancer spread."
Ripostella, 59, had moved to Florida with Scott-Slater, 57, to be near his mom around a decade ago. He had spent a good chunk of that time taking care of his mom until she succumbed to complications from dementia.
The friends told the Daily Commercial that they'd help pay for Kodiak and Betty White's food and veterinary expenses and prefers that they're adopted together because they are bonded siblings.
Kodiak and Betty White meant the world to Heimbaugh, Ripostella said in an email to the Daily Commercial. "We are desperately trying to find a good home for them."
He said that he and Scott-Slater cannot take care of the dogs because of their pet Pomeranians and Persians. They cannot cohabitate with Heimbaugh's dogs. He also recommends that they are not homed with a family that has small children.
But honoring Heimbaugh's wishes is paramount to the late dog-father's friends. The pups are staying with another close friend in Howey-in-the-Hills, Jez Allen, until they are rehomed.
"They seem to be coping," Ripostella said of the dogs, "but we've noticed that they seem to be looking for Brook at times."
Browsing Heimbaugh's Facebook posts, you get a sense that he was private and kept a lot of personal information to himself. His posts often delved into human rights, but his dogs above all else.
"Brook was kind, philosophical, funny, fair, highly intelligent, honorable, loved deeply by his family and friends and well respected by his colleagues at IBM where he was an engineer for 25 years," Scott-Slater said.
Heimbaugh is survived by his parents in Arizona and a sister in Chicago. Ripostella described their friend as a Renaissance man who was deeply knowledgeable about science and society. "He wasn't just a Johnny One-Note about computer stuff," Ripostella said with admiration.
"He loved all dogs, but especially adored Kodiak and Betty White," Scott-Slater emphasized. "He enjoyed walking them and being in nature."
If you're interested in adopting the dogs, call Ginger Scott-Slater, 512-669-2990.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: New home sought for Howey-in-the Hills dogs after tragic loss
