Goodbye Rosey

Saying goodbye to Rosey was a day that we all (especially the kids) were dreading. We were thankful that we found a good family for her to live with: a retired couple that love dogs and were really wanting one of their own. But, Ben and I felt terrible giving away the boys' first dog.

The weeks leading up to Rosey's last day at home we spent a lot of quality time with her. We did some of her favorite activities: chasing bubbles, laying on the heater with the kids in the morning and visiting her best dog friend down the street, Kona. I was much more lax with allowing Rosey to be in the living room, knowing that time was short. 

The day before Rosey was leaving, I happened to talk to an older (and wiser) friend who recommended that we go and visit Rosey when she was at her new home. I had figured that it might be easier for the kids to just say goodbye once and never see her again. My friend, however, made me realize that it would help take away some of the sting of goodbye if they knew that they could see her again. That night, when we told the boys that we would visit Rosey at her new home, they were so happy. It was such great advice.

The morning that Ben took her away, the twins did really great. In fact, it was Josh who cried and had the hardest time understanding. "I want Rosey!" he cried. It was so sad.

It was a couple hours later, as I sent the kids outside to play by themselves, that I really noticed how much I was really going to miss Rosey. I hadn't realized how much I relied on Rosey to watch out for the boys and bark if there was any stranger around. It was weird not seeing her familiar black and white body tootling around after the kids out back. Within a few hours I was already mentally telling myself that we'd get a dog again (something I never thought I'd hear myself think).

I'm not going to lie: Rosey and I had a real love/hate relationship. There was a period of time, when I was exhausted and emotional due to thyroid issues that I was seriously talking to Ben about giving her away. She loved to climb over the fence and find neighborhood dogs to play with. She chewed my garden gloves. She dug my dahlia bulbs. It was a pain to find something to do with her when we went anywhere. Her white hair was all over the house no matter how much I cleaned. And the few times she puked in the house just about undid me (who wants to clean up dog vomit, anyways?). But...she was a good dog. If it wasn't for Rosey wanting to go down and play with Kona, we wouldn't have formed a very special friendship with Chris and Jackie down the street. Her need for a walk got us out of the house almost every afternoon. The boys loved playing with her and petting her. Seth especially couldn't walk past Rosey without some sort of hug or pet. Ben and I liked playing catch with her in the yard and watching her run fast. Sam felt so much safer when Rosey slept in their room while they fell asleep. She will always be our first dog, and a great one at that.

Seth on the heater with Rosey in the morning. They would make a "tent" for her with their blankets and snuggle. It was so sweet.

Blowing bubbles for Rosey

 It was really fun to watch her chase them.

Sam

Seth

Josh, Sam, and Seth

Getting a family picture with two dogs looking at the camera is near impossible. Here's Rosey with her best friend Kona, and our dear neighbors Chris and Jackie. 

I think of all the kids, Seth is missing her the most.

Again, pictures with dogs are awkward. The kids were basically choking her to hold still.

A week or so after we brought her to her new home, we went and visited Rosey. It was so fun and special. She seems really content in her new home, but still recognized us. We took her for a walk and to play at a park. We're hoping to visit her again one more time before we move to Mexico and hopefully another time when we come back home for visits. She sure is a good dog.