Charles Lynn Phythian and his dachshund, Little Boy Blue, who both died Monday in a motor- vehicle accident, were a familiar sight throughout southern Colorado, the dog’s head perched on Phythian’s broad shoulder as they drove down the highway.
Phythian, 69, was a big man, over 6-foot-2, with a white beard and a solid build. He favored gimme caps and plaid shirts.
Little Boy Blue accompanied him wherever he went.
When Phythian drove to a work site – he drilled water wells throughout the San Luis Valley and southeast Colorado – Little Boy Blue rode along. The dog wedged himself between Phythian and the backrest of Phythian’s International Semi cab, resting his sleek snout on Phythian’s shoulder to peer through the windshield.
Phythian grew up near Rocky Ford. After serving in the U.S. Army, he set up business digging wells, first in Kansas and then in southeastern Colorado.
After moving to the San Luis Valley about 25 years ago, he set up Phythian Water Well Drilling in Sanford. Most of his business involved drilling residential wells for newcomers from Alamosa to La Junta.
Phythian’s resonant laugh and dedication to work made him popular with customers. Their faces softened when they saw Phythian driving down the road, with Little Boy Blue on his shoulder.
At the drive-in, the staff recognized Phythian’s truck and always had a plain burger ready to add to Phythian’s order as a treat for the dog. Nearly everyone in the valley greeted the dachshund as naturally as they greeted Phythian.
“He took that dog everywhere,” said Phythian’s wife, Juanita Salinas Phythian.
“He did. He did. Even if the wife didn’t go along, the dog always did. I mean, they were inseparable.”
Phythian raised the little dachshund from puppyhood, feeding him with a medicine dropper until the dog was big enough to eat solid food.
Little Boy Blue was devoted to Phythian. He knew, when he heard the sound of keys jangling, to train his eyes on his burly owner, anticipating the moment when Phythian said, “Let’s go.”
Shortly before the fatal accident, man and dog had left the Phythians’ Sanford house, where they had lunched with Juanita Phythian. Both Charles Phythian and Little Boy Blue were thrown from the cab when Tabetha Kristy Lucero’s Honda Civic collided with the semi-tractor’s left rear wheels, hurtling the vehicle off Colorado 15 and into a fence.
Charles Phythian was pronounced dead at 3 p.m., almost exactly the time that a local veterinarian said his dog died. They are buried together in the Sanford cemetery.
Besides his wife, survivors include daughters Shawn Mae Phythian-Olsen of La Jara, Sonni Lee Jackson of Glenwood Springs and Lisa Amaro of Dodge City, Kan.; son Donald Lynn Phythian of Alamosa; sister Beverly Brady of Arlington, Texas; brother Billy Donald Phythian of Evans; 14 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.