Ozzie Head

Ozzie was a big part of our lives for 15 years.  Our daughter Angela and her roommate Aaliyah bought Ozzie’s Maltese dad Oscar as freshmen at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.  After breeding Oscar with a poodle, Ozzie came from that litter on April Fool’s Day 2008, a month or so before Angela graduated and brought him back to Memphis.  While sitting in TGI Fridays after graduation deliberating on a name for this Maltipoo, we agreed upon the name Ozzie (H/T: Karen Stone Head).  To say Ozzie was a character would be an understatement.  From trying to wash his face and dry off daily, catching him on the arm of the couch literally drinking the margarita that sat on the end table from the straw while we were playing spades in the kitchen, snitching on Roderick to Karen for leaving HDMI cables in the floor after connecting DVD player, honking the horn while Roderick was paying his long time groomer Melanye Peeples in front of the truck, trying to dictate our bedtime when he was ready to go to bed, giving Karen the substitute teacher treatment whenever Roderick was out of town, barking and shaking the door to let us know that UPS, FedEx or USPS had dropped a package off, or beckoning for the window to be rolled down when he got in the truck, so many hilarious stories.  Ozzie was beloved not only by family and friends, but at Sidlehill Farms, Stateline Animal Clinic, and most notably, Melayne’s Paw Spa where he looked forward to his weekly visits.  Melayne practiced for competitions grooming Ozzie, and named the arthritic soaks the “Ozzie Head Soak”, which started with him.  Ozzie’s back legs gave out Sunday night after Thanksgiving, 11/26/23, from what was diagnosed the morning of 11/27/23, as a ruptured disk where the spine and rib cage meet.  Knowing that the end was near based on Ozzie’s sudden condition, we put him in the bed between us that night.  Ozzie crossed the rainbow bridge the morning of 11/28/23, in our bed.  It is believed that Ozzie waited until Roderick returned from getting his physical before doing so.  In Ozzie’s passing, Melayne described him best as a “furry comedian”.  We miss our lil’ man on this side and will always have a special place in our hearts due to how he impacted our lives.

Roderick & Karen Stone Head

Angela Stone Martin