The dog you compare all the others to
Heart dog memories are those memories that come back to you over and over, year after year, even when the dog that made those memories with you is long gone. Rocket was my heart dog, the one to which I compare all other dogs.
We had many good years together and, although I miss her terribly, she lived a good life and passed peacefully. There have been many good dogs in my life since then. However, even though I love many other dogs, I find myself comparing each of them to Rocket at some point.
Why she was my heart dog
There are so many things that made Rocket special. For example, she was
- smarter than any dog I’ve ever known
- kind and generous to a fault
- able to outsmart me if I wasn’t careful, but all in the best way possible
- a character and a free spirit that couldn’t be controlled
Because she was such a free spirit, she always had accidents that no other dog would have. While it wasn’t exactly safe, she loved to wander. And her free spirit needed it, I think.
She’d go wherever she’d go but never stay gone long. When she came back, I’m sure she had stories to tell. I wish I could have heard some of them.
One of my favorite heart dog memories
One time she came back with a broken leg. We’ll never know how it happened, but it did. We took her to the vet for x-rays and cast. She was put on activity restrictions, of course. We kept her in the house except to go to the bathroom.
After about a week, she decided she had had enough of “house arrest,” as I’m sure she considered it. She looked at me, looked away, and took off, cast and all.
When she came back several hours later, she had a face full of porcupine quills. I didn’t even realize we had porcupines around, but she found at least one. And, of course, it was hours after the vet’s office had closed.
We decided to pull the quills ourselves since getting into the vet that late wouldn’t work very well. My daughters and I sat down with Rocket and tried to get her to relax (like that was going to happen when she was being held down and anticipating some forced activity).
We started pulling. Most of them came out without too much trouble, although a couple of them were pretty messy. Rocket obviously did NOT enjoy this and resisted as much as she could.
In all her wriggling around, her cast came off. We tried putting it back on but ended up getting a new one and getting her checked over at the vet the next day.
It all came out ok in the end, but that was a story to remember! Just one of many when it came to that girl. Even though things didn’t always go smoothly, she did her own thing anyway. I learned so much from her about living life to the fullest. One of the many heart dog memories she gave me.
Do you have special heart dog memories? I’d love to hear about them. Tell me your story in the comments below.
For more Rocket stories, read My heart dog. And read this post from dog trainer Victoria Stillwell about heart dogs.
