I also love his family dearly.
Rocky hails from one of the most beautiful areas in New York - and maybe even the U.S. He's from Scarsdale, NY. His home is gorgeous, his two sweet little girls are priceless, and his mom Lisa was just wonderful.
Lisa passed away last month of cancer. For the past year, my staff and I knew something was up, but we didn't ask questions. Lisa had started to lose a lot of weight, first off. Her voice became scratchy on the phone, and, eventually, when we'd go to pick Rocky up in the a.m., she was no longer seated at the kitchen table as she normally would be. She was a stay at home Mom, and the President of the Junior League of Southern Westchester County, NY. Very busy lady! In a world where the "rich" can easily dismiss the "rest of us" - Lisa was polite and kind, always. Rocky was her "first baby" and she had him years before the children came along.
A few months ago, I started seeing clear signs of a problem. Suddenly, there was a ramp added to the front porch. Then, I caught a glimpse of a wheel chair in her garage. Family and friends were buzzing in and out of her home each day. And then one day, I got an email from Lisa's husband Sean. It simply said "Lisa passed away this morning, funeral details to follow, thank you for everything you've done for our family."
I lost it. Totally lost it. I kept thinking of the children without their wonderful Mom, and of course, how on earth is Rocky going to process this?
Sean emailed me the funeral arrangements, and asked if I'd take Rocky the day of the funeral through the weekend. I, of course, said of course. I went to the funeral, and then went and picked up Rocky from his empty house, as everyone went to the cemetary afterward.
He greeted me normally - tail wagging, lots of rubbing up against my legs. When I saw what was around his neck, I couldn't stop crying.
It was an orange bandana. That may not sound important to you, but, it was to me. You see, every year for the holidays or for his birthday, I'd always give Rocky orange toys. He loves the color orange. You can put 10 toys in front of him, if none are orange, he won't bother with any of them! If one is orange, he'll snatch it up in a nano second. I often told Lisa how funny it was how he loved the color orange! (Such a typical boy color too!)
And that orange bandana - the first he's ever worn - was a sign to me, from Lisa. I took it as "keep loving my boy please!". I took it as "I know you love Rocky, as I do - here he is in his favorite color for you - remember me and be good to him." That's what I heard in my head, and that's what I will always do.
Rocky is a funny dog. He dislikes when men pass us in a car. He loves, however, when ladies pass us. I swear, sometimes I think he's eyeballing the cute ladies up and down as we are stopped at red lights. But if a man is stopped at a cross walk - or - God forbid, a man fills up my gas tank when we're at the gas station with Rocky in the car - he'll flip the heck out. Being a terrier - he's crafty, brave, loving, affectionate and silly. And very smart.
I hug Rocky extra hard these days. I tell him what a good boy he is. But I don't mention the words "Mommy" or "Lisa" - ever. The other day I went to pick him up for daycare, and he was sound asleep in his crate, lying on Lisa's blue fleece sweatshirt. More tears on my end. He's probably dreaming of his Mom, as he smells her scent from her sweatshirt. Personally, I don't think its the best idea to have Lisa's sweatshirt in his crate, so he can smell her still. But what the heck do I know? I just feel bad that he may be thinking she's coming home soon. He has big sad brown eyes, & I could just be projecting my own sadness for everyone in his home on to Rocky.
 |
| Rocky in skunk costume, 10/31/11. We sent him home like this, so his kids and family could see what a cute skunk he was for Halloween! |
No comments:
Post a Comment