So Rocky has been gone almost three days and it is still very odd.  I get up to go to the kitchen and no one is right behind me.  I begin walking my sleeping baby to her room to put her in her crib at night and I still look down, stepping gently not to step on dogs.  We miss him at dinner time. 

I listen for his breathing...

Jr. is concerned but doesn't understand.  We are spending more time with him, going on walks, and I took him to the barn yesterday...he was a good barn dog. 

Ellie has only mentioned him a few times in passing but has not looked for him or asked about him.  That actually makes me sad.  I feel like she has already forgotten our boy.  I'm sure its only because Rocky had been slowly disappearing for weeks from our daily activities. 

I said a lot of things about Rocky in a previous post but here's who he was on a daily basis. 

Rocky had a special shake every time he stood up.  All ears and heavy lips would swing in a heavy, tacky-wet sounding motion.  He always had a heavy, snorty breath to him and when he walked (a mom) could hear it and know exactly who was coming. 

Rocky followed you every where because he loved you, and because he always wanted to share.  We never moved in this house without our shadow with us.  

I ate every breakfast with him under the desk, head in my lap, waiting for what would be shared.  Even though he was a beggar, Rocky never took food carelessly.  Instead he would sniff any and every thing you handed him to eat.  At least a twenty second sniff before he would curl his large lips around his teeth and gently take the food from you.  He was cautious. 

Rock was the best spooner ever.  On nights when Brett was not home Rocky, no matter his age, would jump on the bed and curl up to me.  After a while he learned to lay out on his side and place a paw on my shoulder or hip.  When I wouldn't let him up he simply curled up on the floor beside me for the night. 

He spent every day on the sofa in my office with me and often throughout the day would decide that I needed a break and would come up behind me with a nudge for some free time.  Too often I would ignore him.  Rocky stared at us all of his life.  he would sit in front of us during television viewing time and just stare.  He would nudge me at work and then just stare.  We to this day have no idea what he ever wanted.  Honestly we yelled at him way too much for something so simple, but it was frustrating to not know what he wanted. 

Rocky hated the pool, but loved to go.  Being dark skinned I would put the others inside the pool fence and then bring him over and hose him down so he would be cool too.

Did I mention his love of food and treats?  He patiently waited after every meal for left overs.  He was often caught on his hind legs eating from Ellie's high chair tray.  I always knew when that was going down because she would be laughing uncontrollably at him in her face.  And no one could come home from shopping without treats for the dogs and Rocky made sure of it...he stood silently and waited while bags were unpacked until we got to their treats.

He had a funny way of talking to us when he was feeling frisky or reprimanding his son for getting to close to his bone.  Sadly that same way of speaking was how he cried as he was being laid to rest the other day.  That is the sound that rings in my ears and my heart when I think about him now.  I hope that will pass.

Rocky was the one that we would let kids walk if we were taking them all out.  He was the gentle one that ALL the kids loved more then anything.  My animal timid little niece called him once, "her best dog ever."

Rocky is so hard to live with out...Just like Adrian we will feel the loss of his presence for some time, but we will always hold him tightly in our hearts and our loving memories. 

He was the best dog ever.