Missing Rosie

 So our sweet Rosie has been gone for an entire year.

 I have had a lot of boxers in my life over the years. The first one I remember was Punch when I was five. (We named him that cause he looked like someone had punched him in the nose.) Then we had Smokey. My aunt and uncle had a boxer named Benjie. When my sister married she and her husband got a boxer named Champ. After Champ, they got Spunky.

 After their demise my sister bought the boys a pup they named Maggie. Maggie had pups and they gave us one...a sweet female named "ROSIE."

She was tiny and demure, exuding femininity and just "looked" girlie. She had the softest coat I  ever felt. We got her when Zach was about five.

 We had a huge swing set in the back of the yard and Zach  always wanted to play on it. The problem was that Rosie LOVED to chase Zach and would often get to him just as he reached the set and would tug  his shorts down as he scrambled up onto  the play set. He was safe once he climbed aboard. Then Rosie discovered how to  climb the set. The above photo is of her with her back legs on  the top platform as she peers over the privacy fence. Yes...she was a smart one! (Click on the photo to enlarge it)

 She lived a good life with us. She grew up with all three of my kids and never caused me a minute's grief. The above photo is of Massey and Rosie in our kitchen when she had reached the point of finding it difficult to even stand.  She was still sweet and dear but we all knew the end was near. This is the last photo we ever took of her.

 Massey left the next  day  for a trip  to visit my friends in Florida and by  the end of the week we  all decided it was time to let her go. She scrambled around just trying to stand up and had a hard time just walking. It killed me to let her go but it hurt more to see her suffer.

A dear friend of ours had someone they knew from the Humane Society come to our house and let Rosie go in peace in familiar  surroundings. It broke my heart but it was harder seeing her struggle to make us happy to just have her around. She went peacefully and looked up at me one last time...almost with an appreciative look.

When it's time to let them go...it's time to let them go. They have done their job supplying years of joy and love. It is our job to know when it is time to let them go.

The above photo is probably my favorite of Rosie. This is when my mother in law came to visit when Rosie was young. My mother in law is an avid dog lover and currently holds the record for "Crazy lady with the most rescue dogs."

She came and we had a cook out. The kids were still little (hence the play house) and when she sat down on a bench to eat her burger, Rosie climbed right up next  to her. She never shooed Rosie away or acted irritated as Rosie stood three inches from her face as she ate her burger. You GOTTA click on this photo for a closer look...it is priceless!

Oh how I miss my Rosie! She was the best.

 I remember when it got so bad she couldn't walk without her legs splaying out in every direction and we decided to have her put down, one of my son's friends spent two hours in the back yard digging her grave. It was hot  and he was sweating. Zach had mangled his arm in a long board accident and couldn't do it. When his friend came back into my house drenched in sweat,  I told him how much it meant to me and he simply said "It was my honor."

Everybody loved my Rosie!

The next day another one of Zach's friends helped bury her because Zach had a cast on. I creeped on Zach's facebook page that night and it simply read "RIP Crazy Legs."

I cried and cried and cried.

Rosie is gone but will never be forgotten.  Two of my friends made donations to the Humane Society in her honor...That lets you know what a great dog she was!

I still trim out her grave with my trusty weed eater and think of her every time I cut the back yard. Dogs just don't live long enough on this earth but this girl will live in my heart forever!


"RIP CRAZY LEGS"

Til next  time COTTON