On Wednesday, October 1st, 2014, we put to rest a beloved member of our family – Rolo (aka Baby Dog – Pest – Sissy – Knucklehead – Mr. Sniffy). He gave us more than 16 years of devotion, loyalty and most of all love and laughs.
He joined us on a cold March night in 1998 from NEAS. When I went to the shelter, I went without my husband or son, to look for a puppy that I thought might be a good fit for our family. When I got there, a new group of puppies rescued from West Virginia had just made the long trip north. When I saw Rolo in his kennel, I knew he was the one. I asked the volunteer, if I could come back tomorrow with the family and she said, they could not hold him, with all these families looking for puppies – he most likely would not be there the next day.
So without anything to bring him home in, the shelter gave me a warm purple beach towel (I still remember the color and might even still have it) to wrap him in and off to Pet Smart and then home, we went. On the way to Pet Smart and home, he sat on my lap and did his best to drive.
Once home – we had an excited, scared and anxious 10 week old Brittney Spaniel Beagle mix puppy – who of course would not sleep alone – so I set up to sleep with him on the kitchen floor. That was the first day of thousands that we would share. He somehow became known as my dog or Mom’s dog, throughout the years – most likely due to that first day and night.
Rolo was the one who greeted us each day with a wag and a bark – okay lots of barks and wags. Unless of course we were picking him up from the kennel after his staycation and our vacation. I was never quite sure if the attitude he gave me (and only me) was because he was pissed that I left him at the kennel (Bed and Biscuit – thank you Kathy Drouin for taking such good care of him) or because I picked him up and interrupted his fun with the other dogs.
Looking back on Rolo’s life with us – we were lucky… our son was in first grade when we got Rolo; he is now 24 years old and married!! Where does the time go?
Up until the past two years – Rolo was in great health and only until recently, the week of September 25th, did he lose the use of both rear legs, which was the ultimate reason we decided he deserved to rest and continue on to Doggie Heaven with dignity.
So like the first night – I spent his last night at home sleeping with him on our bedroom floor; letting him know how much he was loved and how much he meant to our family.
And as I had said so many mornings before I headed off to work – my final words to him were – “Bye Baby Dog – Be a Good Boy – Momma Loves You”.
You are pain free now and have all four legs to run, jump and sniff all you want.
RIP Rolo – you are already missed very much – love Mom, Dad, Kraig and Shauna.
