Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles’ Dog, Max, Passes Away

Max, the dog of Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles, has died.

A tribute from Lakewood Shomrim described Max as “forever loved, deeply missed and will always be remembered,” adding, “Your paw prints will stay on our hearts. Your friends at Shomrim.”

Max, a Labrador retriever, was a familiar sight to those who knew the mayor personally. While Mayor Coles has not issued a public statement, the announcement has prompted condolences from community members and local organizations.

In a statement, Mayor Coles said:

RIP Max. 2012-2025

It’s difficult to sum up what someone means to you. Max came into our lives in December of 2012, just a few days after I got out of Sloan Kettering. Getting to know him greatly helped my recovery. He quickly grew into a gentle giant, who fell in love with the pool during his first summer. He was always the first family member in the pool in the spring and had the honor of the last swim before we closed it in September. I frequently caught him staring over the cover during the winter. Not sure if he was searching the woods behind the house for hawks or reminiscing about the great times he had in the pool that summer!

I’ve been blessed to have several really good dogs in my life, but Max was the first dog I could say was mine. We had great times together, whether he was taking me for a drag around the block or coating the side of my jeep with slobber as he hung his head out the window while we drove around town. He slept beside our bed at night and I caught him many times staring at the bed waiting for me to wake up and start the day. He greeted me at the door everyday when I got home from work. No matter how tough a day it was, seeing his eyes light up and his tail go crazy as I walked though the door righted any wrongs that happened during the day.

The children in our neighborhood are not used to having dogs. Regardless, they were fascinated by him and I can’t count the times when he would stand at the front door barking at them on the sidewalk as they barked back at him. They presented him with many frisbees over the years. Tracking down frisbees was only slightly behind swimming on his to do list every day.

I used to wonder if folks thought I was crazy as I stopped the car before leaving the driveway to wave goodbye to him at the front door. I’m so glad I took the time to do that yesterday for what turned out to be the last time.

Goodbye my friend. I’m sure we will catch up with each other down the road.