Yesterday morning I had to say goodbye to the last of my 'original' dogs, my 13 year old Chocolate Lab-Vizsla mix named Rocky. Her loss marks the end of an era...an era spanning 15 years beginning when I first met "Chet" (and Steve) in 1995, and ultimately building our dog family together adding Rocky, then Raven and finally Lucy. Having 4 large dogs in the house was a challenge...honestly, I don't recommend it unless you have a lot of time and a lot of land. But we did our best. When we moved into our house on Fox Island I could tell the neighbor's weren't thrilled..Luckily they also liked dogs..
This year has started off rough as we lost Raven to cancer just a month ago. I knew that it was only a matter of time that we would also lose Rocky since she was diagnosed with laryngeal-paralysis in December. I chose not to put her through surgery due to her age and other medical problems, and potential serious complications. I wasn't sure how much time we would get until she had her final crisis.. I feel lucky that we made it past Christmas, actually.. She was symptom-free for the most part until this week.
We got Rocky answering an ad in the paper for a 'free spayed 1 yr old Chocolate Lab Mix'- she was owned by a family in Princeton Idaho and came with the name Rocky. They were giving her away because she wouldn't stop chasing the birds that they collected (go figure, she is a bird dog!). Steve and I were looking for a companion for Chet because we spent a lot of time at school and thought he might be lonely. Well, the two of them never really cared one way or another about each other!
Rocky was a HIGH ENERGY dog! She ran and ran and ran- she chased any bird, seagull, rabbit, mole, squirrel, etc... She was also the Queen of Counter Surfing and Pantry Raiding.. The baby latch on the pantry was to keep her out..but on many occasions I would come home from work to find everything in the pantry eaten (if I hadn't checked the latch)..Luckily she had a stomach of steel and never suffered from 'garbage gut' or pancreatitis...
In her youth, when she met a new dog at the park she would greet them with incessant high pitched barking.. She wasn't aggressive...just so full of energy that she had to let it out..
Rocky always thought she was a lap dog- whether you were driving in the car or sitting on the sofa..she would try her best to get in your lap! She was also Queen at De-Squeaking Squeaky Toys..She could get the squeaker out of anything...pretty quickly..and then she was bored of the toy!
Before Grace was born she was also my bed buddy- she liked to sleep on the bed, usually under the covers...when I was pregnant I was worried she might cook my little embryo so I had to ban her from the bed...She reluctantly settled for the sofa..
Rocky slowed down a little bit in the last few years but not a lot! She always loved a trip to the beach...she would run down the coastline chasing gulls..I feel lucky we were able to take her to Cannon Beach one last time just last month..
We'll miss you Rocky Girl...
