In October of 2012, we found the perfect dog for us. He was a beautiful Boxer named Rocky. He was smart and funny and fit our family perfectly. For two whole months we loved our Rocky boy. Sadly, over Christmas break, Rocky got sick. At first he just seemed a little slower and tired. Soon, he was having a difficult time with the stairs and he stopped eating. It was this time that I knew some thing was terribly wrong. If we could have afforded to take him to the vet we would have. The next day Rocky was peeing blood and we knew that it was kidney failure.
The pain of knowing that we could do nothing was too much to bear. We set up a bed for him in our kitchen and Tim would carry him out to the yard to use the bathroom. That tells you how wonderful Rocky was. He couldn't even walk, yet he would still whine to be let out.
The kids and I were gathered around trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Ara asked if we could pray to make him better. She has always been my spiritual kid, reaching out to God when her life has struggles. I told her that Rocky's sickness couldn't be healed. It was already to a point where his body was shutting down. In tears, she asked if we could pray that Rocky died quickly so he would stop hurting. My heart was broken. My sweet 9 year old daughter has so much wisdom inside of her.
After we prayed, I sent the kids to bed having them say goodby to Rocky one last time. A half hour later he stopped moaning in pain. I could see the life had left his eyes and I knew his body was still alive, but he wasn't there anymore. Soon after that he passed away. It was so difficult for my babies! All of the kids were crying and sobbing in the morning. Even Tim cried when he saw how sad the kids were. It was the middle of winter with more than a foot of snow on the ground when Tim dug a grave for Rocky in the backyard.
This isn't just a story of sorrow. This is also the story of our how we got our new dog. After Rocky died, Rigel still wanted a dog to play with. He was so sad without his buddy, Tim and I decided we could search for a new dog. Tim thought it might be fun to have a Border Collie. We searched on KSL.com again and found a 7 month old Border Collie puppy. I called the owner that day and told him we'd like to see the puppy that night. sadly, Tim had to work late and the car was acting up. I called the owner again and told him that we couldn't come tonight.
He sounded like he was in a slight panic. He asked me where I lived and I told him. He said he was willing to bring the dog to us. He was kicked out of his home and had to give her up. If he didn't give her to someone that night he would have to take her to the pound. We agreed. I had the kids find all the money we could to pay him for his drive out here in boony land.
It was worth it! She was such a sweet puppy!
Harley Quinn was her name and we thought it suited her, so we kept it. She is so funny! She has more energy than Rocky, but she is smaller and easier to handle. Rigel had a hard time warming up to her, but he quickly became her best friend. They even play Hide and Seek together. She has been trained well enough, but it is fun to teach her new things. I'm glad we have a new member of our family to help fill the hole that Rocky left behind.
