10 Things I Learned from Leland Dirks

I got news today (Feb 19, 2024) that my fellow Colorado author and border collie lover Leland Dirks died recently. It’s such sad news, but I know that his beloved (late) border collie Angelo shepherded his crossing. As I often do upon the death of people I love and admire, I wrote a bit of a Leland Dirks tribute that I like to pretend he’d appreciate. Links to all my reviews of his books included. 

• Book review: Angelo’s Journey
• Book review: Jimmy Mender and his Miracle Dog
• Our earlier tribute to Angelo and Leland

Leland almost NEVER shared photos of himself, so it took some doing to find one he shared many years ago. That’s a young Angelo with him. 

I’m regretting that the ONE CHANCE I had to meet Leland in person in 2013 (before Lilly died). It’s a long story, but we were driving near his area and hoped to connect, but it didn’t work out because of stuff on my end of things. 

A Leland Dirks Tribute

The love of a good dog is everything.

Tell your stories, your way and on your terms.

Sometimes ravens become brothers.

Walk more than is necessary.

Treasure every animal and bird, every tree and cloud, every sunrise and sunset.

Bring plants to transplant with you when you go.

Sometimes you need to run bad people out of town through real-world politics.

Even hermits need friends.

Never lose faith in a loved one’s absence.

And, as heartbreaking as it is for those left behind, exit on your own terms.

– by Roxanne Hawn

Farewell for now, my friend. See you on the other side.

Note: I’m honestly devastated to report that my friend and fellow author Leland Dirks died in early 2024. Here’s the tribute I wrote then.

Members of his family inherited the copyrights to his books. They chose to stop all book sales and erase Leland’s digital legacy. Because I adored Leland and his writing, I am choosing (in late 2025) to keep all his book reviews on this site.

If you also followed Leland’s work and would like to connect with others actively keeping his legacy alive, you can find us in this Facebook group called Friends of Leland Hermit.