Yesterday was a day of great loss for my family. One of our dogs, Rocco, a red nose is gone. I didn't write yesterday because I was an emotional wreck. I spent all afternoon looking for a picture of my beautidul red nose and I couldn't find one. What kind of pet lover am I?
I can't believe that I don't have one picture of Rocco. It seems like yesterday when we went to pick him up. It was a Sunday two years ago, we all got into the Lighting McQueen (that's what my son calls our car), went to pick up my bonus child and headed to our detination. We bought him from a colleague of daddy and when I saw him it was love at first sight.
A couple years ago when my son was around six months daddy went a got a dog, without consulting me. I didn't want to have pets at the moment because we had a baby and I was very worried of how that would go. I remember I got home from work and there was the dog. Not just any dog, an American Pitbull, he was about 2 months old, You can imagine how mad I got, specially given the fact that pitbulls bite (they are subject to very bad propaganda in Puerto Rico). When his first vet visit came I was so glad to have someone explain daddy what a bad choice this had been.
Boy was I wrong...
If you can imagine this. A very cold examination room in a vet's office. Me holding the baby in one corner, daddy holding the beast, I mean the dog in the other corner. Me, infuriated, giving daddy the "This isn't over, Ill get you later'' look; dad staring at me smirking with the " I'm so glad the dog is staying." and the one look I hated more that anything else the " I told you so".
According to the vet, this was the best dog daddy could have bought. Because they are very protective of their family. And since we bought him as a baby, the same time Gabo was a baby he would be my son's friend. They grew together. When I put the baby down to nap, the dog would also nap next to the baby. When the baby cried, the dog cried. No stranger could come near the baby without going through the dog first. And now that my son is four, so is the dog, whenever I have to reprimand my son the dog gets in the way and pushes him out of the area. Toby, that's the dog, changed the idea I had about pitbulls and is the reason I agreed to get Rocco.
That Sunday afternoon near the train station our Rocco got delivered to us. We chose Rocco after a long list of possible names for a beast like him. He was light brown, with his pink nose and the most beautiful olive green eyes you've ever seen. He was a super hyper dog. Probably had ADHD. We tried training him a couple times but flies played the Alpha role in that situation. He couldn't pay attention for more than a couple seconds before he saw a fly and had to jump to get it. Toby spends his days easting and sleeping, Rocco would spend them chasing flies and iguanas out of the yard. Once he bit something that didn't sit well with him, and when daddy got home at midnight he found him in a catatonic state. He got me out of bed and we went outside with the dog, petting him and taking care of him. Daddy said he didn't think Rocco would make it through the night, so we said our goodbyes just in case. But in the morning he was fine. Not this time. Who would have thought that his being so hyper would be the reason he'd be gone today.
He looked so peaceful. Like he was sleeping and I pray that he didn't suffer. My beautiful olive green eyed dog is gone forever. It was so surreal, a couple hours before we found him, he was in the kitchen with me because I was giving his favorite treat, Carmela chicken sausages. I no longer have a dog to fight with over being so hyper, or a dog that would cut himself lose almost daily so I would give him a treat.
How do you do it? I still have Toby. But he can't replace Rocco. Do I get another dog? Should we grieve? How do I tell my son his dog isn't coming back?
One things is sure... he will be missed a lot.
Thank you for the memories Rocco. We'll always remember you.
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