This past week I went for a walk with my friend Bonnie, and her partner Michael, Teddy her pup, my Dane Fred and myself. During our walk she reminded me that it's her old dog's 1 year anniversary, of crossing the rainbow bridge on July 7. It may seem strange to mark the day you lose a dog, but this dog was Bonnie's fur family for 11 years. So although it is not a time of celebration on this 1 year anniversary, it is one of reminiscing. We chatted a bit about her personality, and how different Teddy is, and then I asked if she would allow me write about her and Roxie's bond. She said yes :)
Question: How old was Roxie, and do you know her birth date?
Bonnie: I had her for 11 years, adopted her in Oct 2008. The vet estimated she was around 2 when she became my fur family, and she was 13 when passed in July 2019.
Question: Do you know what breed she was?
Bonnie: Roxie was a 12 lb Papilllion cross, but she was marked as a Chihuahua cross in the shelter. I was curious to find out and at some point I had her DNA tested for fun. It came back as a yorkie-poo! Ummm...no.
Question: How old was Roxie, and do you know her birth date?
Bonnie: I had her for 11 years, adopted her in Oct 2008. The vet estimated she was around 2 when she became my fur family, and she was 13 when passed in July 2019.
Question: Do you know what breed she was?
Bonnie: Roxie was a 12 lb Papilllion cross, but she was marked as a Chihuahua cross in the shelter. I was curious to find out and at some point I had her DNA tested for fun. It came back as a yorkie-poo! Ummm...no.
Question: Did you have any nick names for her?
Bonnie: Oh YEA, She had many nicknames, 12 Pounds of Evil, Roxie Roller, Rockem Sockem robot, and Roxs with Socks. It was all with love of course but she was dog reactive and could be a handful.
Question: What was your favourite thing to do together?
Bonnie: One of our favourite things was go for walks, in the rain. She never minded the rain, and because she was such as asshole to other dogs, rain meant we were less likely to run in to other people walking their dogs. So we could both relax and enjoy our walking time. Our second favourite was to go to Island View Beach for an off-leash walk with my friend Nancy and her dogs. Nancy was my dog sitter and walker, so Roxie knew her and her dogs. One on one Roxie was very dog reactive, but with Nancy's pack of dogs Roxie could interact with other dogs and not pick fights. It was always so great to see Roxie behaving like a "normal" dog
I was so honored to be able to have been there to capture some images of Roxie, shortly before she passed. She was blind and mostly deaf but still was a rock star.
Bonnie: Oh YEA, She had many nicknames, 12 Pounds of Evil, Roxie Roller, Rockem Sockem robot, and Roxs with Socks. It was all with love of course but she was dog reactive and could be a handful.
Question: What was your favourite thing to do together?
Bonnie: One of our favourite things was go for walks, in the rain. She never minded the rain, and because she was such as asshole to other dogs, rain meant we were less likely to run in to other people walking their dogs. So we could both relax and enjoy our walking time. Our second favourite was to go to Island View Beach for an off-leash walk with my friend Nancy and her dogs. Nancy was my dog sitter and walker, so Roxie knew her and her dogs. One on one Roxie was very dog reactive, but with Nancy's pack of dogs Roxie could interact with other dogs and not pick fights. It was always so great to see Roxie behaving like a "normal" dog
I was so honored to be able to have been there to capture some images of Roxie, shortly before she passed. She was blind and mostly deaf but still was a rock star.
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A little bit from Bonnie
The day we met - I was working at a shelter and I was looking for a small 20 lb dog that would fit into my life. I had already set time aside that day to see another dog that arrived at the shelter, with a load of dogs brought over from the mainland, but as fate would hav eit he she was too heavy. So I asked about Roxie (then called Panda). I was told she may not be a good fit - she was yappy- not good in a condo. I figured I would at least check her out and I took her for a short walk around the streets at the shelter. We sat on a bench for a bit, just relaxing and checking each other out, when I decided I would give her a shot. We headed back to the shelter, and for the rest of the day she hung out behind the desk with myself and the other staff working that day. I found our more about her history and that she came with a bite report. Technically she should have been euthanized but the person who seized her fought to give her another chance. So there is 4 staff and Panda, trying to decide on a good name for her (I didn't like Panda) - we decided she needed a tough chick name since she bit someone. Co-worker suggested Roxanne (Roxie). Oh I liked that and wanted to see if Panda liked it. I look over to where Panda is interacting with another staff person, and I say "what do you think Roxie, wanna come home with me?" No word of a lie, she turned around, walked over and sat at me feet, looked me in the eyes and tilted her head to the side. That was the moment she picked me and came home with me.
Roxie was my first dog, and she taught me so much about being a dog owner and about myself as well. She was very dog reactive when it was just the 2 of us - like she felt she had to defend me. She always did great in training sessions but then out in the real world and all the training went out the window. I would see a dog and my anxiety would spike fearing Roxie would misbehave...of course she would pick up on my stress and freak out. It took me a long time to realize I was causing the exact thing I was trying to prevent. Of course, there were days I would get SO FRUSTRATED with her, I questioned why I adopted her. The dog trainer I worked with once told me Roxie came in to my life to teach me things, so shut up and listen to Roxie's lessons
I have so many stories, and wonderful memories I never gave up on Roxie. Even though she could be an asshole she was my (asshole) dog and I loved her so much. It's a year since she passed and I still miss her.
The day we met - I was working at a shelter and I was looking for a small 20 lb dog that would fit into my life. I had already set time aside that day to see another dog that arrived at the shelter, with a load of dogs brought over from the mainland, but as fate would hav eit he she was too heavy. So I asked about Roxie (then called Panda). I was told she may not be a good fit - she was yappy- not good in a condo. I figured I would at least check her out and I took her for a short walk around the streets at the shelter. We sat on a bench for a bit, just relaxing and checking each other out, when I decided I would give her a shot. We headed back to the shelter, and for the rest of the day she hung out behind the desk with myself and the other staff working that day. I found our more about her history and that she came with a bite report. Technically she should have been euthanized but the person who seized her fought to give her another chance. So there is 4 staff and Panda, trying to decide on a good name for her (I didn't like Panda) - we decided she needed a tough chick name since she bit someone. Co-worker suggested Roxanne (Roxie). Oh I liked that and wanted to see if Panda liked it. I look over to where Panda is interacting with another staff person, and I say "what do you think Roxie, wanna come home with me?" No word of a lie, she turned around, walked over and sat at me feet, looked me in the eyes and tilted her head to the side. That was the moment she picked me and came home with me.
Roxie was my first dog, and she taught me so much about being a dog owner and about myself as well. She was very dog reactive when it was just the 2 of us - like she felt she had to defend me. She always did great in training sessions but then out in the real world and all the training went out the window. I would see a dog and my anxiety would spike fearing Roxie would misbehave...of course she would pick up on my stress and freak out. It took me a long time to realize I was causing the exact thing I was trying to prevent. Of course, there were days I would get SO FRUSTRATED with her, I questioned why I adopted her. The dog trainer I worked with once told me Roxie came in to my life to teach me things, so shut up and listen to Roxie's lessons
I have so many stories, and wonderful memories I never gave up on Roxie. Even though she could be an asshole she was my (asshole) dog and I loved her so much. It's a year since she passed and I still miss her.
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