William C. "Billy" Bonardi III's two passions can be found in a small, framed photograph sitting on his desk: It's a picture of his dog, Sophie, wearing her own personalized Washington Redskins jersey. He did just about anything for the two priorities in his life. Bonardi, 36, put a satellite dish on the roof of his house so he could watch Redskins games, and he'd only buy oversized trucks with extra cabin space so Sophie had a place to sit on road trips.
"His animals were his life," said Sal Esposito, one of Bonardi's best friends, noting that Bonardi had also taken in a stray cat he named Hanna.
And if he wasn't watching sports or playing with his animals, Bonardi was likely to be at a rock concert. Esposito figures the two of them would sometimes attend as many as two shows a week, usually at The Station, including the Great White concert.
Born in Providence, Bonardi had served as business manager and disc jockey for the college radio station while at Rhode Island College. When he died, he was working as a business analyst for a Smithfield, R.I. sunglasses manufacturer.
