A painful goodbye

Yesterday afernoon we buried our dog Rooster. We've had Rooster since he was a puppy and Cooper was just a baby- about 5 years now. His death was very unexpected and has left all of us heartbroken. When we left for church yesterday morning he was fine. After church, Cooper and Carson went outside to play with him. They both came running back in the house and Cooper said, "Daddy, Rooster is laying on the front porch and he won't get up and his tongue is hanging out of his mouth!" Randall and I both jumped up and went running outside, only to find that he was already dead. We all just stood there with unanswered questions and not knowing what to do.

Randall, being the good vet that he is, couldn't stand to not know what happened, so we sent the kids inside and he did a quick necropsy (autopsy in human terms). It turns out poor Rooster had a hernia in his diaphram, which allowed his stomach to push through the opening and put pressure on his lung so he was unable to breath. He likely has had the hernia for quite sometime, probably since early May when he got ran over, by me, of all people (still not sure how that happened, and I've felt terrible about it ever since). Looking back now there were some signs. Even though he has healed up really well and seemed like he was back to his old self, at times he seemed tired and out of breath, but we just attributed to the fact that he is still in recovery mode. A fractured pelvis isn't easy to heal. So, Randall and I both feel guilty, me for running him over his the first place, and Randall for not recognizing the symptoms of what could have been and easy fix. I mostly feel bad about making my children so sad.

Randall and the kids burying Rooster


We all loved Rooster, but the kids especially loved that little dog. They loved to throw frisbees and balls for him, they loved to chase him around the yard, give him hugs and let him give them slobbery dog kisses. We all loved Rooster's companionsip, espcially me when Randall was out of town. He helped me to not be afraid at night when I was here alone with the kids at night, because I knew that if something or someone was outside that could cause us harm, Rooster would let me know. He was a good little guard dog, and especially looked after the children. He absolutely hated it when they were doing something he though was dangerous (like jumping off a dock in Island Park- Rooster finally went to the end of the dock and stood there so they couldn't jump in the lake anymore!).

You know, it really is true what they say... a good dog really can be a man's best friend, and it is painfully difficult to say goodbye. So long Rooster. You will be missed.