Carolyn Kreider wrote this heartfelt tribute about her Logan on January 27, 2004.

Today has been a difficult day at our house. Tonight we held Logan in our arms as he was taken away by the angels. The second-hardest part of all of this is having to tell his loved ones that he is gone. As our older grandson, Tyler, said, “Logan is my best friend!”

Logan would have been sixteen on April 18th, and we have known for quite some time that we would have to face this day. Sadly, we still weren’t ready. After his many surgeries, three malignant tumors, etc., it was just plain old age that took our boy. Yesterday, he was still managing pretty well, eating well, and enjoying life. He was still wagging and fascinated by his surroundings indoors and out and following us around. This morning, he was ill and refused food. He rested well all day, but then refused his dinner. He met us at the door after work, but then retreated to his resting place. We immediately left for the vet’s, and for the first time in his life, he made no effort to look around on the way. Denny carried him in and placed him on the scale. He quietly rested on the table, and waited for Dr. Lee to come. An examination confirmed what we had dreaded to hear. Logan’s body had just given out. He had lost nerve control in his hind legs, lacking reflex action and oblivious to any discomfort placed on his feet. We had run out of miracles and it was time to say good-bye.

From the beginning, Logan was a challenge, as well as a joy. No matter where he went, EVERYONE seemed to love Logan. He was a goodwill ambassador – even being invited by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Foundation to represent them in foreign countries with the People to People Student Ambassador program for middle school aged children. (We later found out that much to Logan’s embarrassment, he was invited by mistake. They didn’t know he was a d-o-g.) This was confirmed when Logan received a letter from a 24-year member of the British Parliament inviting him to the House of Commons “based on our shared heritage.”

His very physical enthusiasm made him a poor candidate for pet therapy, but Denny did suggest that he could maybe visit convicts in prison. They might be up to his eager greetings and introductions. An obedience school dropout, he forged his own code of etiquette. His manners were never polished, but he was nonetheless as charming as they come. We spent years trying to curb his enthusiasm to a more respectable level, but he insisted that “he had to be him”. Dr. Lee gave us the best advice when we explained our dilemma to him. Fluffing Logan’s ears, and looking into those beautiful, brown eyes, he pointed out that didn’t Logan love everyone, live life to the fullest, and plow through each day with unending happiness? Well, then why try to change him? Why didn’t we just go along for the ride and try it his way! It was some of the best advice we have ever been given.

From then on, he was our hairy guru, leading us on the adventure of our lives. We were his “pit crew” as he took the Golden ladies along for parades, parties, benefit walks, trips to the auto swap meets with Daddy, a vacation in Michigan, and even a visit to Oberlin College last summer – where he insisted on center stage! He swam with reckless abandon and gusto, belying the fact that Goldens are graceful and elegant in the water. When especially joyful, he would tip his head back and howl like a coyote. We never knew what he would do next, and that was really part of his appeal. He will be pictured in the next Golden Retriever Annual with his sisters. Thank you, Rochelle, for featuring them in your article and for all of the great e-cards at the Land of Pure Gold with their photos.

After losing our beloved Libby, in June, he and Meggie Mae carried on the traditions. In December, we brought a rescued, Golden puppy home. Logan and Meggie welcomed him and Logan, although aged and unsteady on his feet, tried to play with him, and wagged his tail in support from the sidelines. Little Eli seems to possess some of that untamed affection and unbridled enthusiasm that we tried to squelch by “civilizing” Logan. Although we hope to improve his manners, we will also remember that the days of youth are short, and that there is something to be said for spontaneous hugs and kisses and a furry face flying at you through the middle of the newspaper.

To all of the people who shared Logan’s life, we are sorry to have to give you this news, but we hope that you will feel as we do – blessed to have known him, lucky to have learned from him, and sure that we will never, ever forget him.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince. Find Goliath, Katie, Libby and all of your many friends. Thank you for almost sixteen years of Camelot.

13-year-old Sets Tongues Wagging: Candidate’s Appearance gives Student Group Cause for Pause By Jewell Cardwell, Akron Beacon Journal, October 17, 2001     The heaviness and uneasiness that have held us hostage since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and the more recent anthrax scare have left me wanting to find a reason to laugh. That moment came for me and several others last evening at Copley High School.     It was during registration for the annual meeting of People to People Student Ambassadors. I have Logan Sinclair Kreider of Wadsworth to thank for my change of face. Logan was one of scores of so-called teenagers who were selected by the organization—founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower during his administration as an overseas summer educational enrichment experience for seventh- through 12th-graders.     This is the third year that Logan Kreider—the blonde-haired, brown-eyed 13½-year-old—has been invited to join. However, this is the first time he has actually shown up. Turned out to be a real head scratcher for all parties involved—especially Logan.    But it wasn’t his clothing choice—albeit Bavarian with a hat that kept falling in his eyes is not exactly the cat’s meow among today’s teens. Wasn’t his breeding, either. Logan is as polite, intelligent, talented and sociable as they come. It was his breed that gave some pause and had others howling. Logan Kreider is a dog—a Golden Retriever, to be exact.     Carolyn Kreider—who with her husband, Dennis, chauffeured Logan to the meeting—said: “The first two years the invitation came we just laughed. But in light of all that’s happened in the world we decided to send back the reply card this year.” Mrs. Kreider said there was “a place to circle his grade level but we just left it blank since he flunked obedience training school.” And the rest is history.    Understand up front, dear readers, it is neither my intention nor the Kreiders’ to embarrass People to People. “But our friends said, ‘You just have to go this year—especially with all the tragedy.’” Carolyn Kreider said.     It was an honest and humorous mistake, all agree. Yet, it’s one no one, at the moment, seems to be willing to take credit for. Just so the committee didn’t think that they were trying to pull a fast one, the Kreiders even came armed with Logan’s AKC registration papers.     At any rate the Kreiders—acknowledging that Logan is a bit long in the tooth—decided to finally take advantage of the spotlight. “We’re probably not going to have him around much longer,” Carolyn Kreider matter-of-factly said. “He is a real character! And he is like most teen-agers: a little hard to live with at times.”     The Kreiders said Logan has already heard via the mail from one of the potential families. “He received a letter last week from a gentleman in the United Kingdom, who is a 24-year member of the British Parliament, who thinks they may have shared ancestry. Won’t he be surprised?”     Each year the students get their pick of three different destinations: the South Pacific, Europe or the British Isles. “Last year’s invitation talked about him (Logan ) hand feeding the koala,” Mrs. Kreider said. “We could never imagine Logan doing that.”     The Kreiders also are the proud and loving owners of two other Golden Retrievers: Meggie, 7, and Libby, “who is about 9 years old.” Libby—a regular visitor for three years at Wadsworth’s Magnolia Nursing Home—has a claim to fame of her own: Fastest Tail Wag in Northeast Ohio. That’s according to the human Kreiders.     Rick George—an assistant leader with People to People—chuckled at the sight of Logan: “I think it’s hilarious. What’s more remarkable is that he’s been invited three years!”     “Logan was always a hyper guy,” Mrs. Kreider said. “He’s lovable but not the mellow Golden; which is probably why he’s still doing so well.” Logan and his sisters—who also have Bavarian costumes—have appeared in parades. “We also dress Logan up as Henry Fonda in On Golden Pond,” said Mrs. Kreider, who is a pharmacy technician. Her husband is the supervisor at Woodlawn Cemetery in Wadsworth.