Roxie loved to barter. She would steal whatever she could find – her dad’s sock, my glasses case, a random piece of paper she found on the floor – and then wiggled her butt and wagged her tail with vigor as she waited for the “trade” to take place. We would meet on the rug in the living room, and I would get her an Alpo Snap in exchange for whatever treasure she pilfered.

This was our dance for years. At least twice a day, Roxie bartered.

Until about mid-June of this year. Her desire for mischief waned, as did her love of Busy Bones, and the light began to dim in her eyes. Our girl, our sweet dog that we’d adopted when she was just four months old, was fading away from this life. Over the next few weeks, her mobility, which up to that point was obviously declining because she was slower and limping, decreased rapidly. In a matter of two weeks, while we were frequently on the call with her vet to discuss pain medications, she lost the ability to get up without assistance. And then she couldn’t move hardly at all, even with our help.

We made the decision on a Friday night that we were going to have to put her to sleep after we helped her go outside to go potty, and she came back inside and trembled and panted from the pain she was in. I cried through the night, and I sobbed as I spoke to the in-home euthanasia service when they scheduled us for exactly 24-hours later. I spent that next 24 hours crying almost constantly. I couldn’t imagine life without Roxie.

We adopted her when she was four months old from the Indianapolis Humane Society. She was a challenging dog with a lot of aggression, and we couldn’t train it out of her. Instead, we adapted life to her issues and had a wonderful 10.5 years with her on our side. We moved with her from Indiana to Washington, and she became our “adventure dog” when we began camping a few years ago.

We said goodbye to her on Sunday, July 19^th. The euthanasia was quiet and respectful, and then the vet took her away to the funeral home where she was cremated.

After 10.5 years, Roxie – aka Roxie Marie, Roxie Roo, Roo Roo, Boo Boo, Boopy, and a dozen other nicknames – has left our family and has joined our other dog, Kyle (who passed 8.5 years ago), on the other side of the veil.

My heart is and was broken, but I have found a way to cope. That is a story for another post on another day.

Roxie – A happy girl out at camp.