When “Ladybug” – a German shepherd/golden retriever mix – died of natural causes three weeks ago at the age of 21, her owner, Thomas DeMartine of Hoboken, said she might have been the city’s oldest dog. She certainly was one of the most loved. The fact that Ladybug lived so long might lead one to believe she’d led a posh life, but she started off with anything but a silver bone in her mouth.
DeMartine and Ladybug met in 1989. DeMartine was homeless at the time, but was staying temporarily with a friend in the friend’s apartment in North Bergen. A neighbor of theirs, Rachel, knew of a puppy in the area who she thought wasn’t being treated well. The puppy was being used as a watchdog and chained to a basement, according to DeMartine. Rachel sometimes took care of the dog, and eventually was able to purchase the pup for $100 from the owners.
When Rachel’s husband got cancer, she gave the dog – Ladybug – to DeMarine.
“At Christmastime, she used to love to rip open her presents.” – Thomas DeMartine
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The trio, along with DeMartine’s then-boyfriend, built a wooden cabin for themselves at the Union City/Hoboken border, behind the Conrail tracks, the location of a popular encampment for the homeless. The three men and the dog lived there for seven years.
“People who came down were amazed,” he said. “I had a dresser, walls, pictures on the walls.”
DeMarine said that the boyfriend was experienced in construction and built a strong house with an outdoor shower and a barbecue pit so they could cook. A woman who worked at a now-defunct Laundromat uptown would let them collect water to bring back.
Ladybug didn’t seem to know she was homeless; nor did she mind, DeMartine said.
“I don’t think it made a difference to her because she was so loved,” DeMartine said. “She and I were inseparable. We made a lot of friends.”
When DeMartine worked at various restaurants in Hoboken, his friends would watch Ladybug at home. He collected and sold items on the street, and Lady tagged along. In winter, he said, “Some of the homeless people would go collect dead branches for a fire. Lady would go with them. She’d come back with branches in her mouth.”
When DeMartine’s boyfriend went to jail, he said, Ladybug “was my guardian and my friend. She made me aware she was there for me.”
After three years on the waiting list to move into the Hoboken Housing Authority projects, DeMartine got a letter in his post office box in December of 1999 saying an apartment was available. He moved in with Ladybug and a few stray cats they’d befriended.
He’s been living in that apartment ever since.
A dog’s life
In his apartment, DeMartine and Ladybug took walks, had catches, and celebrated the holidays.
“At Christmastime, she used to love to rip open her presents,” DeMartine said. “We would dress her up for every holiday. She was so easy to train. I cook a lot. She ate a nice big piece of garlic every day. She would always come over and she’d stand there and wait for it.”
DeMartine said Ladybug was well known in the projects, where he walked her.
“She loved kids,” he said. “If a parent would yell at a kid or hit a kid, she’d bare her teeth.”
But recently, Ladybug began to slow down. She had trouble walking, and then could barely walk at all. When she would soil herself, DeMartine washed her up, because he knew Ladybug cared about staying clean. He said that when he scrubbed her, “She’d smile at me with her beautiful brown eyes.”
DeMartine said that when Ladybug finally passed away earlier this month, area vets refused to budge on a price of $500 or $600 for cremation. His friend David found a company from Pennsylvania, Pet Haven, which picks up pets from veterinarians to cremate them. After listening to DeMartine’s story, they agreed to come to Hoboken, pick up Ladybug, and cremate her for a low price.
Now the faithful pet’s ashes are in a container that is part of a memorial in DeMartine’s apartment. He said the stray cats miss Ladybug, too.
“She was the love of my life,” he said.
He said that he still wakes up in the morning and looks for her, but knows she had a good life.
“I know she was happy,” he said. “It’s me who’s not doing too well. I know 21 years is a long time for a large dog. But she wasn’t supposed to go.”
Caren Matzner can be reached at cmatzner@hudsonreporter.com or editorial@hudsonreporter.com.