Overlook’s Dashing Diego Brown “Diego”

May 15, 2015 - July 20, 2025

When the phone rings and it is the owner of a 14 year old Overlook dog, you hold your breath. Too many times you know there is heartbreak on the other end of the line. This call wasn’t about 14 year old Honcho, it was about 10 year old Diego and his sudden and unexpected death from a tumor on his liver. 

Diego was one of 22 puppies, in two litters, born five days apart. Their antics were captured in several YouTube videos that have garnered well over one million views.. Diego was my pick of his litter. A magnificent boy who I placed in the hands of Frank and Nancy Brown. They owned Diego’s sire, Honcho, who was an integral part of my Overlook breeding program. We hoped Diego would become equally as influential when he was older.

Influential he was! Diego grew into a Golden Retriever that was not only structurally sound with a beautiful headpiece, but with a temperament that can only be described as ‘golden’.  He stamped both his incredible physicality and temperament on the Overlook litters he sired. I am forever grateful to the Browns for raising these boys and allowing them to be a part of Overlook.

Remembrances are important to me. I always want to remember the dogs I’ve lost and what made them unique and different from each other. I asked Nancy & Bucky to write a remembrance of their boy, Diego for the Overlook website. I want Diego to be remembered by those who loved him and miss him every day. 

It has been three weeks now since we had to say goodbye to Diego as a result of a huge mass on his liver and internal bleeding.  We are all in a state of shock and so sad as he was only ten and he still had the look and personality of a six-year pup.  We loved him so much.  We’d like to go down memory lane to help us relive his amazing life. He was originally our daughter Becky’s dog and she had named her little pup Diego after her guide who led her on a challenging ascent up the 19,348 foot Cotopaxi (second highest summit in Ecuador), the hardest and most rewarding climb of her life.  Diego was with Becky as she began her career as a teacher at a Waldorf class, having Diego join her in class once a week, when she met her life partner and became a mother.  She did a lot of early training, including teaching him to roll over which he did in record speed.  Diego did get his nose in precarious situations and Becky had the privilege of taking porcupine quills off of Diego a couple of times and cleaning skunk smell while living in Portland Maine.  

When Becky became a Mom, Diego transitioned full time to being the goofy side kick of Honcho (his father) and became Nancy’s and Bucky’s full-time joy. We also affectionately referred to him as Diego or Little D as he was always so happy (tail always wagging) and silly and really loved Honcho so much.

They often did a dance together with their two front paws around each other’s shoulders while standing on their hind legs.  Nancy and Bucky had moved to Maine in 2018, having six acres of meadow and farm like land which gave Diego and Honcho (we refer to as the boys) lots of space to play and hang. For Diego’s entire life he was at first a frequent visitor with Honcho until he moved in with Honcho when he was 3. They were inseparable and many times Diego would wait for Honcho’s lead to then follow. They were two magnificent looking dogs and it was sometimes hard to tell them apart. 

We are avid hikers and that was the best part of their day.  When Diego jumped into the back of the car, he could not give us enough kisses and his entire body would wag with happiness.  Most of the time we were able to walk off leash and we had whistle trained them and they would come running back – most of the time!  That’s another story!  😊  We have met so many people on our hikes who would stop and comment on our beautiful and friendly dogs and say what a nice disposition they had.  Diego had some very unique qualities.  He always had to have something in his mouth when greeting anyone while also making a very happy sound almost like the sound of a cow or sheep.  Sometimes he would get desperate and just find a leaf if he was outdoors.  Most of the time, it would be socks and shoes.  Every morning, he went fishing in our closet to find one of our favorite slippers or socks and greet us with a mooing sound while carrying the object.  He was famous for the silly mooing sound when our guests came to visit.  He did not like vacuum cleaners or big boxes and would stay away, yet at night for the final walk around our property he would sit far away close to our pond just looking out and we were always nervous about what might be out there.  Whenever we came home, he would be the first to greet us mooing with something in his mouth and a full happy swagger.  

We have Diego’s son Odie living with us most of the time now (our daughter Molly and Gabe’s dog) and Odie misses Diego so much.  He particularly misses stealing whatever was in Diego’s mouth. Odie followed Diego’s lead and learned so much from him as his shadow.  

Diego had such a handsome but sweet look and was a stunning model of a golden retriever. He sired a number of gorgeous litters including a litter of 11 beautiful puppies this year.  The 10 years that these two dogs were together has been a magical era for us and we now miss him so much. He was very special, always happy and unique personality as a member of our family.  ​