Rock

Today has been a rough day.  We had to have our dog put to sleep due to declining health from his lung cancer.  Growing up we never really had any pets in our house. One time my brother picked up a stray dog, Timothy.  The problem was that we didn't have a fenced in yard and he was the type of dog that needed to run.  My parents found a nice home for him and that was about it. He was only with us for a few months.  I also remember this other  black and white dog we had named Patches.  He jumped everywhere and tore up the backyard.  I don't think we had him very long either.  I'm not sure what happened to him.  So, Rock was the first real pet I ever had. I have never considered myself an "animal person" but I sure did grow to love our dog.  On the other hand, Daryle always grew up with pets, usually cats.  When we got married we would often discuss having a pet one day. Since we were living in an apartment at the time I had told him we could get one when we got a house.  Well, in June 1999 we bought our first house and by November Rock had joined the family.  We had debated dog or cat for months. Since we had a rather large backyard we both pictured a big dog running around back there.  We figured there was plenty of room for a dog ... and kids too.  Unfortunately we moved from that house before we brought Travis home.  I can tell you Rock had a lot of enjoyment in that backyard.  (For exercise we would take a laser pointer out there and shine it all around and he would chase it! It was so funny to watch!) Too bad my scanner doesn't work. I was showing Travis some old  pictures of when we first got Rock. He was much smaller, super black (he had really greyed in recent months)  and you could see the sparkle in his eyes.  He had a good life. As you can see in these pictures, Rock and Travis have quite a bond. I am not sure Connor is really old enough to understand, but Travis sure is. I was surprised when he told me he wanted to come with me to take Rock to the animal hospital.  I already had asked my mom to come with me so I knew between the two of us we could take care of Travis too.  I have to say, he loved on that dog all morning before we left.  He even followed Rock around the house and took a bunch of pictures of him. He even got one of Rock drinking from his water bowl. It was sad and cute all at the same time.  When we got to the hospital we went into the exam  room where they had a nice soft  blanket laying on the ground.  We all sat on the floor and hugged Rock and talked to him. Travis was right in there with the whole thing.  When the doctor came in to sedate him Travis just laid by him and hugged on tight.  It was such a tender, peaceful moment.  Here are some of the happier times.

 I have so many pictures like this!

 Helping dad give  Rock a bath!

 I about died the time Travis was reading the book Go Dog Go! to Rock.  That was hilarious!

  A family picture... BC... Before Connor

 The best of friends.

He always did like a good bone....

 These are from Rock's birthday last March, he was 12 years old.  We always tried to make a cake... he didn't get any frosting though. I am so glad we took these pictures last year, since it was his last birthday.

Travis took this one of Rock and Connor this morning. So sweet.  (I can't find any pictures of Rock and Connor... I am so thankful Travis got this one today!)

 Travis kept frowning, finally I got him to show a small smile while hugging his beloved dog.

 Finally, I was able to get a cute one of them together. I think I will print it out and frame it.  You can just see from the look in his eyes though that he was not feeling well. I didn't quite see it when he was around. But now that I have been looking back at his  younger days it really shows.  (Notice they are holding his paws... Travis insisted.)

Now for a few funny memories of Rock.

Yes, he was a doggy school drop out!  Once we got his behavior under control I just did not care if he didn't make a perfect figure eight while walking next to me!  We never went back.  I don't take critisism well...lol

Over the course of 12 years:

He ate his leather leash.  He ate 2 dozen hard boiled eggs. He ate a loaf of bread. He ate a pound of ground beef that was thawing on the counter.  He ate a package of gum. Wrappers and all. He really loved eating Kleenex and  toilet paper rolls. Yes, we fed him dog food every day too!  He got in lots of trouble sometimes...

He used to escape the house and I would have to run all over the neighborhood chasing him down. He thought this was great fun. He really enjoyed the time the fence fell down and he got to run free in the church lot that was behind us.

We used to love watching him sit on our deck and howl at the noon whistle that went off every Saturday in Memphis.  It was also the tornado siren... he howled and howled at that noise!

One time he got stuck under the deck in our backyard. We hadn't had him very long.. a few weeks maybe.  Daryle wasn't home so it was up to me to "save" him.  I called several numbers and nobody would help. Finally one person suggested I get a water bottle, fill it with soapy water, spray him and get him out.  I did just that and also got out a shovel and dug out some dirt.  He finally slipped right out, got a hold of the water bottle in his teeth and ran around the yard with it hanging out of his mouth and spewing water all over the place.  Boy was I glad when Daryle got home!  I was exhausted.  The energy of a puppy is endless.

The first time it snowed we tried letting him stay inside with us. He thought our bed was a trampoline. Out he went. The next morning there was snow all over and not one paw print.  Out he came... he had been hiding under the shed all night!

The original owners named him "Twister". We tried naming him Bo. It sounded too much like No so we changed it to Rock.

Before kids, all of our pictures were of Rock.  Then the pictures were Travis and Rock. The last few years Rock seems to be missing from pictures. Sorry old boy.  Trying to get the three of you in a picture was a challenge.

Travis used to refer to our 80 pound dog as his "puppy." Once people saw him they would say, "That's no puppy!!"

If he wanted to be petted he would put his paw on your leg and just look at you with those big brown eyes as if to say, "Come on and pet me! You know you want to!"

There are so many more stories.  12 years is a long time. He was our first "child".  He got all of our attention for many years. He filled the void in our lives when we struggled with infertility.  When Travis joined the family Rock took him under his wing and was a fierce protector. When Connor got home he sniffed him and licked him all over and then decided he needed protection too. Even today as he stood there getting his shot he growled at the doctor as if to say, "These are my people and you had better not let anything happen to them!"

There is one thing I know for sure.  My family is now being protected by one heck of a "guardian angel dog"... I am not really sure if there is such a thing... but we will go with it. It makes us feel better. 

Right now our family needs to grieve the loss of a wonderful pet, but I am sure it won't be long until we have another furball running around here again.  Pets teach us so many life lessons.  They really add a lot to the family.

A house just isn't a home without a dog, that's for sure.