---

ATTLEBORO - Booze and dope tortured Sheldon Pond for most of his life. He made no bones about that, bluntly explaining his addictions to other people. His honesty, and his kindness, made Pond popular with the city's homeless and the people who work tirelessly to help them.

But this weekend, even as Pond announced plans to again try and sober up, help didn't reach him in time.

Pond, 49, was found dead inside his room in a Merit Street house Saturday morning, just days after neighbors say he had begun another attempt at achieving long-term sobriety.

"He really was doing really good for a long time," said Josh Johnson, who lives across the street from where Pond had been living. "He was one of the most stand-up guys I ever met."

Police had few details about the cause of Pond's death on Saturday, but they said it was likely the result of natural causes. Dot Embree, who as executive director of the Attleboro Council of Churches came to know Pond well over the years, said he came to the council's soup kitchen Friday evening. Although Pond knew his health was in decline, the kitchen's staff told Embree he did not look "noticeably different."

"He was truly a courageous, loveable, kind man," Embree recalled Saturday. "Even though he got into a few scrapes in the years I knew him, I still loved him.

"He had a heart of gold."

Embree also said Pond was "a tremendous artist." But despite her entreaties, he never pursued it professionally. Still, she emphasized that Pond was not homeless when he died.

Pond's story - a tale of drinking, drugs, jail and, in more recent years, an attempt to manage life on the streets as best he could - became the subject of an award-winning 2002 story in The Sun Chronicle about Attleboro's homeless population.

Veteran staff writer Gloria LaBounty spent a week with Pond and his friends, chronicling their daily struggles with drugs and alcohol.

"I have to drink," Pond told LaBounty. "People put you down. I drink because I have no choice."

Pond's struggles started early. Both of his parents were alcoholics, and he ran away from home at age 14. For a time he lived in California, where he became addicted to heroin.

Back in Attleboro, he got embroiled in a string of legal problems and served time in jail. Following his most recent stint in prison, Pond said he was giving up drugs but would continue to drink because "you get more respect drinking than drugging."

He told his story with candor to thousands of readers, acknowledging that his problems had made him a well-known presence in the city. But Pond also received support from local business owners and even, despite his many run-ins with the law, city police. Years ago, local law enforcement officers were known to check on Pond when he had to spend a night outside. They even brought him coffee.

And they appreciated that when he needed to be arrested, he went willingly.

His current neighbors said Pond was a welcome addition to their street. Even when he had friends over to drink, he demanded that everyone stay inside or out back, so no children would end up in harm's way.

"I just saw him yesterday," said one neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous. "He looked fine. He was a real good guy. His mother just came out to say he had to check himself in somewhere, and he was planning to check into rehab."

"The only problem he had now was drinking," Johnson said. "But he was still a good guy."

REBECCA KEISTER can be reached at 508-236-0336 or at rkeister@thesunchronicle.com. TED NESI can be reached at 508-236-0434 or at tnesi@thesunchronicle.com.