Wow , how incredibly sad . I’m so sorry for his friends and families loss. He sure sounded like a wonderful man . I hope his sweet dog will be loved on and not remain in a shelter. What a sad article .

That is such sad, shocking news. He lives about an hour from me. I just cannot imagine we lost another rose breeder this year. So sad.

Sorry to hear this Henry. Pray for his family. Was he a forum member here? What was his user name?

He was not a regular but would pop on to answer any questions about his roses or miscellaneous on the propagation forum. He bred one of my favorite climbers gold blush as well as Ruby Voodoo and four inch heels.

How horribly tragic! My heart goes out to his friends and family. I have two of his roses- Ruby Voodoo and Lemon Zen.

BTW Cracker looks like an Australian Shepherd mix or purebred. If someone knows of a breed rescue for Aussies in Florida, maybe someone could contact them to take a look?

So sad at only 66 years old. His dog survived.

How very sad. Such an interesting and thoughtful man.

Oh how very sad. As a Floridian I followed his work and blog when he was posting. Truly a great loss for the Rose world. :-(

Oh this is so sad! I'm so sorry for his family and friends.

The Dancing Goat is a dairy farm there in Tampa, Florida, where John lived. Cracker is his beloved dog, who appears to have found his forever home. I hope you can read it without tears. I couldn't. This is their post from Face Book.

The Dancing Goat

· 8 hrs ·

The first 48 hours! Cracker is settling in just fine as a Farm Dog in Training. Yesterday we walked 2 blocks morning and night and today we are up to 3 blocks. In a couple weeks, I hope we can be up to a half mile for at least our morning walk. He is having some nightmares I think - whimpering in his sleep. I got up and laid on the floor with him and he was ok That just kills me.

On a good note, he got his first golf cart ride this morning and at first he jumped right off of it and I had to coach him back on. But several more rides later, he is jumping onto the golf cart (floor only - his portly girth won't allow him to jump to the seat and I cannot lift him) and seems to be enjoying the ride. He seems to know when "Mom" is running an errand, it could be fun and extra attention involved.