I'll miss you, Ketzio.

I came home from work to find out that my 12-year-old "puppy" Rocket was put down this morning.  I was so shocked because my plan was to go home tomorrow to spend the weekend with him before he passed away.  My heart aches, and I wish so badly that I could have hugged him one more time.

Rocky, I miss you.

You have been such a good, loyal friend and family member.  It's going to be hard to come home and not see you anymore.  The next little while is going to be really difficult when I find a tuft of hair under the couch or a cookie crumb that you missed.

I can't help but think of all the memories you made with us over the (almost) 13 years of your life.  And when I say "us" I mean more than just my family.  There were so many other friends and neighbors that loved you. You were a celebrity.

Things I will always remember about you:

- When we found you at the pound, you were the runt of your litter, but you were SO cute and friendly.  Within minutes, we knew you were "the one" we would take home.  Mom dubbed you "Rocket" because you ran so fast!  My sisters and I wanted to call you Falcor or Atrayu, but Mom wouldn't let us.

 

- We all almost went nuts those first few months when you would cry and cry in the laundry room at night, but I would sneak in there in the middle of the night and play with you.  I remember wanting to just sleep in there with you!

- You ate a boogie board.  A BOOGIE BOARD!  Over 10 years later, now it's kind of funny.  :)

- We used to have a large kennel cage for you for bedtime and when we weren't home.  Even after we got rid of it, we would still get a kick out of yelling out "KENNEL Rocket!" and having you run back to the same spot where it used to be.

- You were such a little piggy.  You would eat almost anything we gave you.  You saved me a few times at the dinner table.  Thank you for being such a quick eater under when I needed you.

- One of my most favorite memories is when we had the brilliant idea of decorating our Christmas tree with a bunch of little gingerbread men tied on with ribbon.  There was no way we could punish you when we found the tree toppled over and nothing left but tons of ribbon.  No gingerbread could be found.

- I loved when you would come into by bedroom and nuzzle your nose in my bed to wake me up because you wanted to play.  Or pee.

- When I would come home after being gone for awhile (school, internships...), you would sneak into my bedroom at night to sleep with me.

- There were times when you knew something was wrong, and you would come sniff me and look at me with big, concerned eyes.  I remember burying my face in your neck and just crying.

- You were terrified of our hamsters!  Oh, that was funny how big your eyes got when we would try and let them climb on Mt. Rocket.

Things I will miss about you 

- How excited you were when anyone came home.  You made me feel loved and important.

- Sticking peanut butter on the roof of your mouth and watching you lick and lick and lick... and lick.

- Seeing your face stuck in a carton of ice cream.

- Dressing you up in every possible thing we could put on your head.

 

- Having my buddy that I would take with me to the dock by the river to watch the sun set.

- Seeing how much you loved certain toys.  You LOVED that squirrel, and your beloved bird that Lauren dubbed Petunia.

- Watching you "patrol" the pool when people were swimming.

- How you were always the center of attention when we had friends over.

- How cute you looked when we would pop your ears up.

- Listening to you snore behind the couch.  Or barking quietly in your sleep.  That was funny.

- That one time when I cleaned the sliding windows really well, and 5 minutes later I hear "BANG!" and you wobbled out of the living room after running into the window you didn't think was there.

- I'm laughing right now thinking about how serious you were about chomping down on flies around your face.

- Your funny faces

- Your ticklish feet.

- Your stinky breath.

- Your cow moan.

- Your wagging tail hitting the wood floor when I'd walk by you.

- The trails of drool.

- All your cool tricks.

- The never ending supply of shedding hair!

- Chasing you around the house.

- The way you'd stick your butt in the air with your front paws on the ground when you wanted to play.

- Your beautiful golden eyes.

- The "masculine" heavy black lining around your eyes.

- The feel of the soft fur on your chest.

- How your paws smelled like Fritos.

- Your smile.  Even if it was smelly.

- Your patience.

- Your forgiveness when I would take things out on you.

- Your full devotion to our family.

I will never forget you.  You are the pet I grew up with that I will tell my children about.  I'll tell them how you were such a ham.  I'll tell them that you were one of my best friends.

I love you.  I miss you.