I've had a lot of circumstances in life that were fun, sad, educational, and some even life threatening. As a follow up to my thread Death In The Family, nothing really compares to what my wife and I were hit with.
We weren't prepared for this bizarre situation. It would have been bad news if he had a heart attack or got hit by a car, but our mindset wasn't up to what we had to deal with. We realize we couldn't have tried any harder to maintain a close family tie with him. He was a loner and for long periods of time would just "disappear" from our lives.
When I first met LOML, he had been out of communication for 12 years. We hired a private investigator to find him. When we did, he did stay in contact for a few years and then would "drop out" again. He had bought 2.5 acres up state Florida, in the middle of the woods. He then bought a bulldozer to put in his own road to the property. He cleared a 150' area and set up a large double wide 4 BR, 2 BA mobile home.
I think the last we heard from him was about a year ago. His closest neighbor hadn't seen him for a while and called police to check him out if he was OK. When they got there they found him deceased in his bed. They figure he had been dead about 3 weeks to a month. In one of the bedrooms was a jacuzzi full of water, maybe 300 gallons, and there was about 150 lbs of dog food laid out, and a back door was propped open.
We now think he either committed suicide or knew he was fatally ill. He did what he could for the dog. He was in dire debt, had no money, and there was no food in the house. The police found the dog next to the bed and she wouldn't leave the bedside. Animal control had to be called to get the dog.
When LOML went there, she said the smell was overwhelming and the place was swarming with flies. She called a hazmat team and they estimated the cleanup to be about $4000. We needed to get some paperwork and his computer out of there to see if there were any clues, list the creditors, and get his records together. He left no will, and the only note found had to do with wanting a few books to be given to a friend. Other than that, no farewells or explanations. The hazmat team put the computer and the paperwork in one of the bathrooms and treated with ultra violet and ozone.
LOML doubled plastic bagged those things and brought them home. I opened them up in the garage, and within minutes the garage became "off limits".
LOML was really torn up thinking what the dog went through. We found a rescue league who found a family out of state that will be adopting the dog. This is going to be another stressed weekend. We will be driving 260 miles to the animal control that has been holding the dog. This weekend was the deadline for the family to decide the dog's destiny. She would have been cremated on Saturday.
We will be bringing the dog home, and next week we will take the dog to a Vet and get an interstate health certificate. Then we will be driving the dog back upstate to Orlando to a location that rescue will pick up the dog and take her to her new home.
He was closest to LOML of the siblings, and what was weird was that among the paperwork we found our Christmas card we sent...it was never opened. We thought if he ever had a real problem he could call us, but I guess we were wrong. Losing touch even short term can leave many unanswered questions. This has been some ordeal that I wouldn't wish on anyone.
Sorry about my dumping all of this...I guess I just needed to vent.
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We weren't prepared for this bizarre situation. It would have been bad news if he had a heart attack or got hit by a car, but our mindset wasn't up to what we had to deal with. We realize we couldn't have tried any harder to maintain a close family tie with him. He was a loner and for long periods of time would just "disappear" from our lives.
When I first met LOML, he had been out of communication for 12 years. We hired a private investigator to find him. When we did, he did stay in contact for a few years and then would "drop out" again. He had bought 2.5 acres up state Florida, in the middle of the woods. He then bought a bulldozer to put in his own road to the property. He cleared a 150' area and set up a large double wide 4 BR, 2 BA mobile home.
I think the last we heard from him was about a year ago. His closest neighbor hadn't seen him for a while and called police to check him out if he was OK. When they got there they found him deceased in his bed. They figure he had been dead about 3 weeks to a month. In one of the bedrooms was a jacuzzi full of water, maybe 300 gallons, and there was about 150 lbs of dog food laid out, and a back door was propped open.
We now think he either committed suicide or knew he was fatally ill. He did what he could for the dog. He was in dire debt, had no money, and there was no food in the house. The police found the dog next to the bed and she wouldn't leave the bedside. Animal control had to be called to get the dog.
When LOML went there, she said the smell was overwhelming and the place was swarming with flies. She called a hazmat team and they estimated the cleanup to be about $4000. We needed to get some paperwork and his computer out of there to see if there were any clues, list the creditors, and get his records together. He left no will, and the only note found had to do with wanting a few books to be given to a friend. Other than that, no farewells or explanations. The hazmat team put the computer and the paperwork in one of the bathrooms and treated with ultra violet and ozone.
LOML doubled plastic bagged those things and brought them home. I opened them up in the garage, and within minutes the garage became "off limits".
LOML was really torn up thinking what the dog went through. We found a rescue league who found a family out of state that will be adopting the dog. This is going to be another stressed weekend. We will be driving 260 miles to the animal control that has been holding the dog. This weekend was the deadline for the family to decide the dog's destiny. She would have been cremated on Saturday.
We will be bringing the dog home, and next week we will take the dog to a Vet and get an interstate health certificate. Then we will be driving the dog back upstate to Orlando to a location that rescue will pick up the dog and take her to her new home.
He was closest to LOML of the siblings, and what was weird was that among the paperwork we found our Christmas card we sent...it was never opened. We thought if he ever had a real problem he could call us, but I guess we were wrong. Losing touch even short term can leave many unanswered questions. This has been some ordeal that I wouldn't wish on anyone.
Sorry about my dumping all of this...I guess I just needed to vent.
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