Ghillie Was Well-Known on Streets of Edgartown

Ghillie, the blue merle collie who daily paraded the streets of Edgartown and was known by, and friend to, many Islanders, was put to sleep on July 1.

He was the last in a long line of collies owned by Henry and Betty Hough, then Henry and Edith Blake Hough.

Ghillie attended a ceremony honoring the 100th birthday of Henry Beetle Hough and was thereafter seen on television reruns of the occasion as far afield as Bermuda; and again recently, he has been on national television having something to do with the beauties of Martha's Vineyard.

When Mrs. Blake's previous collie, Killiecrankie, who had first belonged to Henry Beetle Hough, died, Thor H. Ramsing of Florida and Edgartown felt that Mrs. Blake, a sailing companion, was in need of a new dog, so he told his daughter, Beth, who discovered Ghillie (with almost identical markings to Killie) at a show dog kennel in Charlottesville, Va., and flew him to the Island when he was three months old.

Killiecrankie died the last day of April 1990, and four days later Ghillie was born. Mrs. Blake was convinced that it was just enough time for Killie to go to heaven, be purified, have a sex change and return to earth, since when Ghillie got off the plane, everyone reached out to pet him, but he went straight to her, knocking her down flat on the tarmac, and that's how they met with Ghillie standing on her chest and lapping up her tears.

Two years ago, Mrs. Blake and Ghillie were being filmed walking through Edgartown complete with script girl, sound man and camera man for a program about the making of the movie Jaws. When this group passed the Kelly House, masses of children suddenly appeared asking to pet Ghillie. All of them thought that this was the real "Lassie." It was a happy occasion for everyone, and Ghillie loved it.

He had many friends, some at the airport such as Pat Luce and Matty LeCoq, who always had puppy biscuits on hand; Miss Ellen Weiss in West Tisbury, who gave him ice cubes, and the crew at the West Tisbury Council on Aging had a desk drawer with puppy biscuits for his frequent visits. Mrs. David Thompson was always prepared with a treat just in case she would run into him. Then there were the assorted tennis players, among whom was the late Frank Neil, whose pockets were a treasure trove.

Ghillie had always enjoyed tennis, where he met many other dogs on the Edgartown Yacht Club courts in winter. One was Hotchkiss, who belonged to Mrs. David Vietor.

Ghillie celebrated his 14th birthday in May at the Ice Cream and Candy Bazaar, as was his custom, and was given free ice cream cones by Bonny Jo Kakala.

Ghillie is survived by his many friends and his favorite haunt -- Sheriff's Meadow.