Rogue

I feel I need to include a post about my dog. Dave gave me my dog, Rogue for our first anniversary. I guess it is good he did it then because a few years into marriage he would probably have said "No". I love my dog...Dave tolerates him. We got him as a puppy and he was crazy hyper. He ate everything and cost us thousands of dollars in repairs to our yard. He would jump on everyone and chase anything that moved or flew. He hates other dogs and would totally attach if given the opportunity. He reminds me of Marley in Maryley and Me. He is a black version of that dog. Their story parallels ours quite a bit. (I just wish I looked like Jennifer Aniston). Rogue has been in our family longer than my kids. He laid by my couch when I had several surgeries and cried my eyes out after failed attempts to have our kids. There were days when I thought we wouldn't be able to handle the chaos that came with him. I remember one time thinking I would leave him on the ranch where my uncle lives. When it came time to leave there was NO WAY I was leaving without him. Even with all of his faults I have loved my dog. Before Cameron was born I would run with him every day. Then it became a little less regular and after the girls were born his runs pretty much turned into an occasional walk. He has been a great dog to our kids. Not necessarily to other people's kids but he loves ours. Lauryn and Clara sit on him and hug him and wrestle him and he never budges, he just lets them. They love to brush him. Sometimes they even use the dish scrubber, BBQ grill cleaner or even my brush (don't worry I bought a new one) to brush him. He loves them. Cameron likes him but is certain that Rogue will eat all of his toys. This is because Cameron remembers a time when this was true. For a while Cameron insisted we call him Flash. I am not sure where that came from but whatever...Well, this summer has been hard on him. He will be ten years old in a couple of months. He has totally slowed down. I am sure that he is going to die soon. He doesn't seem to be in any pain he is just tired and lays around all day. He doesn't eat much and he has lost a whole bunch of weight. He now enjoys the neighborhood dogs. They come lay with him in our front yard. He drags himself on a very short walk each night. He is a good dog (don't listen to Dave). I love him and I hope we can make his last few days, months or hopefully years of his life as comfortable as possible.



This is Rogue babysitting Clara's baby. That is what she told me and it looks like he is doing a mighty fine job.