Rest in Peace, Rocky

I am a little late in posting this, but wanted to anyway. Last week my in-law's dog Rocky died, and since I was not in attendance at the funeral I wanted to say a few last words.

Besides Tom, Rocky was the first Worton I met. When Tom took me to his parents house after a few weeks of dating, I was met in the driveway by a most friendly and excited Boxer, a short stub of a stick in his mouth, making it look like he was smoking a cigar. It was more then a little overwhelming meeting Tom's entire family that day, but I was comforted every five minutes or so as Rocky would wander over and nuzzle my hand. Although I'm pretty sure he was just wanting me to throw his slobbery ball for him ("Let's see if the new girl will fall for it").

Rocky was a good dog. When Tom and I got Scout 4 years ago, Rocky was his first friend. Not that he was the first dog Scout met, but Rocky was just patient enough to be his friend. When Scout was about 6 months old Tom and I went on vacation to Banff and Scout stayed with Grandma & Grandpa Worton, and I have to say I actually felt kind of bad taking Scout away from Rocky when we returned. Occasionally we bring Scout up for Sunday dinner at the Worton household, and Rocky always looked genuinely pleased to see Scout. I love Scout to death, but he is a lot to handle - Rocky, however, always took it stride, even the incessant humping (Scout is a confused dog).

Rocky had very loving parents. He was not only a good dog, but a lucky one. One Sunday dinner soon after meeting Tom's family, we had a huge waffle dinner. It is always one of my favorites - we have about 5 waffle irons going in the kitchen, and Michele makes several different kinds of syrup. Melani makes her cheesey eggs, and there's usually a wide variety of meat as well (ham, sausage, bacon, etc.). After dinner I was helping with the dishes and noticed there were a few left over waffles. I asked Tom's dad what he wanted me to do with them and he told me to go ahead and give them to Rocky. I picked up the plate, walked over to Rocky's dish and scraped them into his bowl - "No, no, no!!" I heard from Tom's dad. "That's not how he likes it!" The waffles were picked back up, cut into small pieces, and drenched with syrup. The plate was set on the floor and Rocky came running, his stubby tail wagging.

Like many large breed dogs, Rocky had hip problems. Rocky was beyond middle age when it got too bad to let it endure. There are many dog owners who would simply put their dog down in a case like this. It is sad, but surgeries are expensive. However there was only ever one option for Tom's parents. It didn't matter what the surgery cost (and it cost a lot), Rocky was simply another member of the family - they certainly wouldn't have let one of their children go without a hip replacement if needed, so they weren't going to let their dog go without either. It is comforting to see a dog so thoroughly and unconditionally loved as Rocky was.

The love went both ways though. Rocky was a gift to Tyler when he was in high school. At 19 Tyler left for South Africa to serve a two year mission for church, but Rocky did not forget him. The whole family went to South Africa to pick Tyler up when the two years were up, and after flying home, Tom and I went to his parent's house to pick up our car. Tom and his dad starting hauling Tyler's luggage into the house, and immediately Rocky ran to the luggage and starting sniffing it. He ran around in circles, his tail wagging so hard his entire butt was shaking. It was absolutely adorable.

Rest in peace, Rocky - you were loved by all who knew you.