By By Jane Kaufman Stephanie Zollshan — The Berkshire Eagle The Berkshire Eagle
RICHMOND — Benjamin must have known he was dying.
The day before his time came, on three legs, the 8-year-old pitbull led his owner to an apple tree at Hilltop Orchards and let her know: This was the place.
On June 24, David and Sara Martell called a veterinarian and made a request for her to deliver his final injection under that very tree.
That morning, David reached out to his neighbor, Roger Manzoli, to dig the grave at the top of the hill — the same spot with the sweeping view where David proposed to Sara and where they took their wedding vows in 2020.
And now, more than a week after burying their beloved best friend and family member, the Martells tear up when talking about Benjamin. They can’t help it.
They owe a lot to the mid-sized dog with the outsized work ethic and personality.
FROM RESCUE TO HERO
Benjamin woke up and began barking at 1:30 a.m. on Christmas morning in 2021, alerting the Martells to a fire.
A faulty block heater had caught a tractor on fire, and a heavy wind swept the flames into the orchard’s building. While there was $300,000 worth of damage, the fire was stopped quickly and the business was rebuilt and saved. Local crews were joined in the response by firefighters from Lenox, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge and from three departments in New York state — Canaan, New Lebanon and Chatham.
That single act catapulted Benjamin, a rescue from an animal shelter, to celebrity status.
He was named an honorary firefighter by the Richmond Fire Department and awarded a firefighter’s helmet. People sent him gifts: steak, dog bowls and enormous rawhide bones. Customers asked to see him when visiting the orchard.
And Benjamin basked in the glow.
In 2023, as he began to slow down because of kneecap dislocation in his hind legs, admirers began a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Benjamin’s medical bills — without first telling the Martells.
A FIRST MEETING
After the Martells moved onto the Hilltop Orchards property in October 2018, they quickly became engaged. David is operations manager at the orchard; Sara is hospitality manager.
“We knew that it was time to get a dog because we could provide the type of lifestyle that they wanted,” Sara said. “I only like big dogs and I had no interest in a pitbull.”
David spotted Benjamin’s photo on the Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter’s website. In fact, he followed Benjamin’s progress at the shelter.
On Christmas Eve 2018, the couple visited the shelter.
“He was the second dog that I saw, and I fell in love with his face,” Sara recalled. “And it was immediate. I guess he never really kissed people on the faces, but he kissed me on the face.”
When they got in the car, David told Sara he’d been following Benjamin’s progress and saving photos of him on his phone.
David said he wasn’t obsessed with Benjamin, but, “I was following his whole story.”
The adoption decision didn’t take much time.
“There’s typically a whole process where there’s several home visits and they need to contact your vet, etc.,” David said. “They did none of that.”
David said the shelter likely figured that the Martells, who were entrusted with orchards on a 186-acre farm, “can probably handle a dog.”
When Benjamin arrived on Dec. 27, 2018, he immediately jumped on the couch, Sara recalled.
“He really made himself cozy,” she said. “I think the first night he jumped into bed with us, too.”
He wasn’t immediately as keen on David though. In fact, he appeared to be frightened of men.
Sara also described the newest addition to their family as a “shy manure maker” who eschewed the leash.
“Half of the reason I was attracted to him: He was the only one that didn’t bark at the shelter,” Sara said. “We get home and realized he makes a lot of announcements.”
A TURN FOR THE WORSE
In February, Benjamin, who’d been slowly getting less mobile, took a turn for the worse. He stopped bearing weight on his right front leg, Sara said.
The Martells initially turned to Dr. Michelle Looney, Benjamin’s longtime primary veterinarian, for help.
“No one could figure out the source of the injury,” Sara said.
Sara then enlisted the help of pet communicator Dawn Allen. “It was the best thing I could have ever done. It was so helpful for him to communicate where his pain was on his body and what was really going on with him.”
Through Allen, Benjamin told his owners he didn’t like being hot and that he liked swimming.
He also communicated, “I need to go to work, I need to see people, and people need to see me,” Sara said.
“I’m not necessarily skeptical but I was taken aback to hear all of these facts that were coming from this person,” David said.
“She had an amazing read on our dog,” said Sara.
As his legs became weaker, Benjamin swam at Fitter Critters in Lee twice a week. In the last four months of his life, he also received chiropractic and reiki treatments from Dr. Emily Newman at Bilmar Veterinary Services in Great Barrington, as well as laser treatments for pain from Alden Beane at True Balance Animal Wellness.
“It was crazy, he had one appointment every day,” Sara said. “We were doing everything we could.”
She said these providers became “integral supporters of Benjamin so that he could be comfortable.”
On June 21, Benjamin joined David at work and stared at David.
After Benjamin died, David learned there are signs that animals are about to die, and one of those signs is staring.
“It’s just like people before the end of their incarnation, they’re dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s,” Sara said. “They choose the family member that maybe they didn’t always communicate with the most. And they’re just like, I love you. It’s a stare that’s like staring into your soul.”
On the evening of June 21, Benjamin whimpered as he was being carried to bed.
“This guy was maxxed out on every pain medicine imaginable,” Sara said. “I had hoped that I was going to get him a cortisone shot with Dr. (Sheila) McCarthy for that right shoulder. He hadn’t used the leg since Memorial Day.”
By that time, his back legs were compromised and he had arthritis.
On the night of June 23, Benjamin was declining fast. At one point overnight, his legs buckled and he cried out in pain.
“It was like the worst moment of my life,” Sara said. “It was unbearable to hear that and see that. And we managed to get him calmed down, and I thought, ‘I’m going to have to drag this dog to Latham.’”
“I actually collapsed and started bawling,” David said. “And he was more concerned with making sure that I was OK than dealing with his pain.”
The Martells spent Benjamin’s last night with him downstairs.
“He never had an accident, though,” Sara said. “I love him for that. He had so much pride.”
On the morning of June 24, she called Dr. Elizabeth Balter at Greener Pastures Veterinary Services, who provided the euthanasia under the apple tree that Benjamin chose.
That same morning, from his perch in the truck, David noticed a bear at the front door of the Martells’ home.
“He went ballistic,” Sara said.
“Protected his mom one last time,” David said. “I personally look at that as a spiritual encounter.”
“He went out being Benjamin,” Sara said.
Benjamin’s last meal was three meatballs and five apple cider doughnuts.
“Sara’s lost two brothers and her father, and I’ve lost a brother, and this is crazy to say, but this has been more difficult for both of us, our dog, than anything,” David said.
He said Benjamin taught him to slow down and be more present, something his staff and customers appreciate.
He’s now planning to put a bench near Benjamin’s grave.
Sara called Benjamin her one soul animal.
“He kept my heart open every day,” she said. “Benjamin was against all odds the most determined resilient soul that I’ve ever known.”
While she was unable to heal him, Sara knew how to care for him in his dying days.
“What I don’t know how to do” she said, “is life without him.”