Thanks guys. The hugs are appreciated.
This morning has been a bit tough. Had to call the vet to see how I go about making arrangements for a dog, a rather large dog at that. Then I had to contact the funeral home that does the cremations here. They'll pick Rowdy up this morning once they're finished with another call. She recognized the name of the owner.....as they have Molly there too.
Molly and Rowdy were very very close all their lives. No two dogs got along better than those two, never a spat.....just did everything together. I remember Molly trying to get Rowdy to play with toys and Rowdy just staring at her like she was stupid. lol He liked to have a stuffy to snuggle........he didn't like tugging on his stuffy, he tried to make them last as long as possible. So instead they developed their own doggie games.......and of course playing with the squirrels who seemed to enjoy it as much as they did. Those two would wait for a squirrel who slipped and suddenly found itself in the yard right in harms way to get back up the tree or up onto the fence before the game resumed again. lol Funniest thing you ever saw.
Rowdy was a beauty, pure white thick lovely fur. Always a smile on his face, just like Molly. I used to have people come up and offer me money to adopt him all the time. Had one neighbor lady who was really in love with him. I think she used to come to our yard sales just so she could pet him. lol
His kennel looked like a cage to those who didn't know him. Trust me, it was no cage. If Rowdy didn't want to be inside it, it couldn't contain him. I was out tending tomatoes in the yard of the house we rented one evening when I suddenly heard the elderly neighbor lady screaming. Next thing I knew Rowdy was scaling his 6 foot kennel walls like a cat.....and he headed as fast as he could toward the screams with me on his heels. The elderly woman was being attacked by a feral cat she'd been attempting to care for.....a rather vicious attack........and Rowdy in a flash took care of that cat without even touching the woman. Then after a quick check of the neighbor he came to me to ask to be put back into his kennel. When I think back on that day.....well, it still amazes me and I saw the whole thing. But it proves beyond a doubt that no kennel, no fence, hell no lead could hold Rowdy if he wanted to roam.
After the truck hit us that day and I lay on the pavement not conscious, yet I had my own thoughts (don't ask me to explain this state because I lived it, I don't understand it) I remember thinking "Oh great, I'm going to die here in the middle of the street (not a fear of dying, a fact) and no one knows where I am. And on top of that I lost the kids dog." An odd thought, but that is what it was.....I was more concerned with Rowdy than myself at that moment. I had no pain, no fear of death. I had no way of knowing that Rowdy, who had also been hit, had ignored his own pain, terrified as he must have been, ran all the way home for help. He scratched, jumped, and barked at the door until Fred and the kids figured out something was terribly wrong because I wasn't with him and by the way he was acting. It was then Fred came looking for me........finding me surrounded by police, paramedics, the fire dept lying in the middle of the street several blocks away.
That cemented a stronger special bond between Rowdy and I. That accident affected him as much as it had me.... The corner where we were hit, well for years he refused to cross the street there with or without me, but he was adamant in his refusal to do so if I was the one walking him. We always had to walk a different direction. It was just this year, 9 yrs later that we both started crossing the street in that spot again.
As I think about both Molly and Rowdy's long lives I can't help but think each of them were meant to join our family to help watch over us. Both were very special in their own unique ways. They're together again on the other side. I guess I really shouldn't be so surprised after they'd spent a lifetime together.
On a side note, I found out last night from easy child that Cleo the eldest pup from the litter of Rowdy's with Precious (Betsy's sister) passed away recently at the age of 6. Her family had adored her and from their description sounds like she took after her daddy. They spent thousands of dollars trying to figure out the problem, which turned out to be a congenital heart defect that couldn't be treated. She passed away at home with her loving family peacefully.
The hardest part is with Maggie. She wasn't bad after losing Molly.........but losing Rowdy last night seems to have traumatized her a bit. She keeps searching for him, crying for him. She saw him cross the bridge, there really was no way for me to prevent that. She knows he's gone. It now has her searching for Molly too. It's just had to see her grieving so, it must be awful to lose both your siblings (and she idolized them both) in just a few days time. Hopefully Maggie can adjust to being the only dog. Although Bruce might not be able to adjust because she's more determined than ever that he IS going to play with her and all the scratches on the nose is not stopping her. Only place he can hide is in the bathroom which is off limits to her due to the litter box.