Love doesn't have to be earned, just given.

Our dog, Rosco left us this week after almost 14 years as our family dog. I thought if I wrote about it, the sadness would be more bearable.

With his passing, we’re even more aware that a chapter in our family is ending.

Rosco loved good sunshine.

Rosco's favorite spot on the gray couch.

Micah and Rosco meeting for the first time.

Rosco always greeted you with a request for head scratches.

He has been in our home since my eldest son, Micah, wore ONLY cozy shorts, since my daughter, Maisie jumped rope while chewing bubblegum and singing the Hannah Montana song. He’s been here since my youngest, Wyatt, ran barefoot across our backyard on sunny days in South Florida. He was there when my mom was alive and he knew my mother-in-law too. His antics cheered us up when we moved a million miles away to Plano, Texas then to McKinney then to Houston. In the way that only dogs can, he made every new house feel like our home.

When Maisie came home from college Rosco was there. When Micah married his love, Casey, Rosco was right there celebrating with us! When Wyatt started high school, Rosco looked at the door as he left and then looked back at me. He understood.

Endings seem to come too soon every time.

If dogs go to heaven, I know Grammy Janis and Grandma Bonnie will be waiting to take him in. I like thinking about that; Rosco running across fields of gold with our moms.

Rosco was a trouble-maker. His dangerous escapades scared us more than once. He was addicted to paper, he ate socks, and anything else we left on the floor or the kitchen table. There was a day when he ate an entire Jersey Mike’s sub. The sub was the same size as his whole body! (He polished it off with a chocolate chip cookie. He even ate the Saran Wrap).  

He only loved our family. He followed me absolutely everywhere and refused to eat when we were out of town. He was a fierce protector and as loyal a dog as I have ever known. Yet he was never fully trained. Rosco held tightly to his rights as an American - especially freedom of speech. He had his own mind.  He was wonderfully quirky and impossibly unpredictable. He hated walking in the rain and had a favorite spot on our old gray couch. If anyone dared sit there, he protested by nudging until the intruder moved. When we bought new fluffy white chairs, he and his dirty paws made a new favorite spot.

It may have been his time to go, but we all wish he could’ve stayed.

Dogs teach us lessons that we may not have learned without them.  I think Rosco taught us that love doesn’t have to be earned, just given.

Rosco lived by the rule: If you can only be one thing, be unforgettable!

We will never forget him.