GriefSPEAK: In Memory of our Dog: The Myth, the Legend: A Blend of Tears, Laughter – Mari Nardolillo Dias

By: Mari Dias, EdD, NCC, FT, contributing writer

“Sadly, our family had to say goodbye to the king, the boss, the dog, the myth, the legend. Known for his love of treats, swimming, boating, basking in the sun and finding food anywhere he could. (Dias, L. 2025 Facebook Eulogy).

He worked at Custom Design and timed his trips to both the myriad of office trash cans and the cafeteria not at the lunch bell, but exactly 30 minutes after. (I believe he may have worn a watch!). He knew the trash cans would be brimming with left over lunches, with unfinished bags of chips, a random French fry or even a leftover mouthful of a cheeseburger. He once broke into an office, where a brimming box of zeppoles sat on the desk, waiting for the St. Joseph Feast Celebration. Direct from Federal Hill. The best of the best. He had good taste! He gingerly climbed onto a chair and then onto the desk, where he sat and ate the entire box. Fourteen zeppoles. Upon completion, he jumped off the desk, innocently walked out, belched and lay down in the hallway. No evidence. Actually, he never left evidence.

He and his “brother “ Ruben once took a lobster-boil size pot off the stove top, which was filled with a simmering beef stew. When I arrived home, the pot looked as if it had just been washed and dried. The only evidence was one thin drip of stew broth on the stove oven glass. Innocent until proven guilty.

Food and swimming. He loved to swim. Anyone and everyone at Wickford Safe Harbor Marina knew him. His lumbering form, up and down the docks, stopping for a treat if offered. And then… one would see this form swimming in circles just beyond the dinghy dock.  Looked like a seal. But no, it was him. He walked to the top of the dock and before anyone noticed he was missing he climbed down the rock and jumped in. One might see him creating these synchronous circles for hours if allowed. Same at home. If we could not find him, the first place we would look was the pool. He was usually lolling on the stairs or jumping in repeatedly.

His name is Meuccio,  (pronounced May oo che o) our 14-year-old Portuguese Water Dog who passed last Sunday from a kennel cough that morphed into pneumonia. You may be wondering how a Portuguese water dog garnered an Italian moniker. My son Adam named him after his favorite piece of literature. Meuccio di Tura is a character featured in the tenth story of the seventh day of Boccaccio’s “The Decameron.” As an Italian major he was required to read all the literature in the language. He was captivated by “The Decameron,” in general and with Meuccio in particular.

Our Meuccio was an irascible curmudgeon. He was loved beyond measure and a genuine member of our family. We will miss his barking, his demands to go outside and his presence. Our home is noticeably quiet now. Mercy misses him, despite their nightly competitions over treats. Once again, another family member is erased from our lives but never from our memories.

Meuccio

August 16, 2011- December 8, 2025

___

Dr. Mari Nardolillo Dias is a nationally board-certified counselor, holds a Fellow in Thanatology and is certified in both grief counseling and complicated grief. Dias is a Certified death doula, and has a Certificate in Psychological Autopsy.

She is an Adjunct Professor of Counseling and Psychology at both Johnson & Wales University and Community College of Rhode Island. Dias is the director of GracePointe Grief Center, in North Kingstown, RI.  For more information, go to:  http://gracepointegrief.com/