Rosie

2006 - 2019

I never had a dog growing up. In 2008, I decided to go to the pound to see what they had with no intention of getting a dog. After walking the kennels, there she sat very quietly while other dogs were barking like crazy. She had such a pretty face. I told her to sit and she did. Then I walked away. I heard a whine and went back to talk to her. She sat again for me. I walked away, she whined. We played that game a few more times. Soon I was asking to take her out for a walk. We went out to the yard. She pooped. I picked it up. Then we went to an enclosed area with a chair. As soon as I sat down, she had both paws on my shoulder and she was giving me a hug and sloppy kiss. It was there that I felt the urge to take her home. I needed someone to talk to, Dawn Morford, to talk me out of it. It didn't work. $85 later the adoption papers were signed and she would be mine in 3 days. That was the start of a long relationship where I learned how to care for a dog and for a dog to care for me. We had lots of growing to do. That was January 2008. So much has happened since then. I moved back in with my parents and they quickly accepted her as their grand daughter. I started a few new jobs which included starting and graduating from nursing school. She was a good study partner. My grandmother died and 2011. Before she died, I remember one day when grandma was sick and spent most of her day sleeping. I told Rosie to stay next to her and come get me when she wakes up. She was such a good girl. When grandma woke up, Rosie came to me to tell me. She never left her side that day. She was there through my different short term boyfriends and then when I met my husband. The one regret I had about her was not including her in my wedding ceremony. She would have been a perfect flower girl. Rosie was my first born daughter from another mother. She was my comfort when my grandmother died. She loved people so much. Sales people would come to talk to my parents about replacing things in the house. She wanted to be there right next to them listening to their sales pitch. She didn't bark at them. She really wasn't a Barker. But she was a whiner. From day one at the pound she whined. Our first month was whining all day. She whined when I was too slow getting out of the house while she stood there with her leash and harness on. She whined if we didn't make it to Pete & Macs fast enough. She whined during car rides. She whined to ask to go outside. I'm going to miss that whine. That was Rosie being Rosie. She made a good big sister to Raven. I don't think she was happy when we brought 8 week old Raven home. Those two loved to wrestle in the yard. Rosie was always gentle with her. Jason did say Rosie taught Raven naughty dog things like digging. That's why we don't have grass or a raised garden bed anymore or a yard in general. Rosie's favorite things to do were to bark at the birds and cats. She loved to sit in the sun next to the pool. She hated watching me swim in the pool. I broke a toe swimming because of Rosie and her desire to either be yelling at me "stroke stroke stroke" or we need a life jacket here. She did not like to swim but she loved flipping around in a kiddie pool. Rosie loved my parents. She and my dad loved to play tug of war and hide and seek. In the summer, she and dad had a tradition of eating apples from the tree in the yard. A funny memory with my mom was when mom had marinated some meat to grill. She grilled the meat and set it on the counter to cool. My mom, left the kitchen to do something. She came back and the meat was gone. I have so many memories of this girl of mine. I'll probably have more to put in writing.

Today, we had to say our saddest goodbyes which I didn't want to say. With her illness, she was so weak and was shutting down so fast. The vet was upfront that she was gravely ill and that euthanasia was her recommendation. BRather than take her home, we decided it was best to say our final goodbyes at the vet. Jason was at home at the time. I asked that he and Raven come say their goodbyes too. As she was drifting off to sleep, I laid right in front of her so I could watch her sleep. I would be the last face for her to see so she knew that she was not alone. I told her I loved her so much. My home and my life will never be the same without her. I just hope that I have her the best life I could give her. I love Rosie so much I wish I could take away her cancer and let her live longer. I have lost other pets before but this has been the hardest of all.