My wife Barbara bought Maverick from a breeder in Ocala, Florida. He is an Australian Shepherd Mini blue merle. His full name is Maverick Blue Levine. At the time my wife got him we had another dog Amanda. Amanda was a full grown Aussie Shepherd who was sick with cancer and passed shortly after Maverick came to our home in Tarzana. Barbara immediately picked Maverick from a group of several puppies. She was taken right away with his lively personality. The breeder told my wife he was the runt of the liter and she should consider picking another dog. My wife said no. He's the one. She said he was full of life and pushed his way to the front of the pen past the other dogs. She fell in love as he had so much personality. My kids named him Maverick. Our family always called him Rick. We always said his name is Maverick but his friends call him Rick. His favorite things were many. He loved swimming. No one could go into the pool without him going in. He loved eating. He would eat anything. The usual things you would expect him to love to eat and things you wouldn't expect a dog to eat. He loved broccoli and green beans. And of course he loved meat and cheese. He loved to chase the tennis ball. He loved having a tug of war with the ball and with a rope toy we bought from the pet store. He loved chewing bones and digging holes in the dirt and burying them. He loved sitting outside with our other dog Mandy, a female mini Aussie. They would sit outside at the gate for hours. Barking at the passers-by and just enjoying being outside. His favorite thing was our family who he loved and brought endless joy to.

I am so sad to lose my best friend Maverick. He was loved dearly by me and my family. He is my favorite dog. He was my companion. I am grateful I for the 12 years I had him in my life. I work at home so I got to spend a lot of time with Maverick, he was always by my side and I will miss him greatly. It's hard to put into words how I feel about him. He was a great friend. My wife Barbara called him Mr. Personality. He had so much personality and life in him. He brought so much happiness and joy to me and my family. I can't thank him enough for the love he gave to me and my family. He was highly intelligent. He loved to swim. He's bred to be a working dog and herd sheep. When I went into the pool he would swim after me and try to herd me. Every summer we would swim every day. We swam laps. I would swim and he would swim after me. He loved it. He was always by my side and I can't express how much I miss him. He will live forever in the joyous memories I shared with him. We love you Maverick. You are in heaven.

Richard Levine
Calabasas, California
June 6, 2019