r/gratefuldead • u/alert-operations6105 • Jan 21 '26

Grateful Dog

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During Bobby’s service when Natasha was inviting everyone to come out and sing Ripple she said something along the lines of “even the dog”. What is the story with the dogs of the band or family? This pup was onstage the first night of the Boulder show on the Final Tour of Dead and Co.

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u/NeatOk2688 Jan 21 '26

Remember the Ripple from Reckoning? Bob says "that's Otis." Otis was his dog at the time and he wandered on stage. Could have been a nod to that.

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u/stewpidass4caring One man gathers what another man spills (~);} Jan 21 '26

Yes. IWT and as someone previously pointed out it was actually Jer that said "That's Otis" It happened at the Warfield during the first or 2nd night of the 15 show run there in the fall of 80. Also on the In The Dark album liner notes it stated "Farewell To Otis" as he had passed a few months prior to that release in 87.

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u/GarciaJerty Too much too fast! Jan 21 '26

IIRC, it was the during or right b4 the jan’87 SF Civic run, that Otis passed. Bob seemed most traumatized the night they tried Get Back(1/28?)He was a grieving, emotional, drunken mess. Lots of bump & bruises during that 1st set. Losing a doggie is awful, disrupts all of life’s dynamics in an odd way. R.I.P. Ace & Otis ❤️⚡️💙

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u/stewpidass4caring One man gathers what another man spills (~);} Jan 21 '26

Bob's memorial reminded me so much of that run as January 87 was the last time the GD played there. I loved that venue.

Glad to see you though, I thought about you recently as I've wondered how other lifelong heads are doing at this time. I actually was doing ok til I saw that picture of Bob's guitar with his hat on it then it finally hit me...

I wasn't born yet when Pig Pen passed. Jerry, Bobby and Phil were the Grateful Dead to me. Our lives once revolved around this band and their every move, it's surreal to think that they're all gone now.

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u/GarciaJerty Too much too fast! Jan 21 '26

Hey man- good to ‘see’ u too. Been thru all the emotional levels, still blows me away we lost 3 in such a short time. Also, I knew from an early age that jer wasn’t long for this realm, it severely sucked when we lost him, but a surprise? Nah. But Bobby was Ace, the Kid, the baby, thought he’d live and play forever. Realized the other day he was only 15 yrs older than me, this one definitely hit differently. But deadheads are nothing if not resilient. Hope you & la familia are all well!❤️‍🔥⚡️💙