Life, Love, and Loss

Well, it's been awhile, huh? About a month actually, and during that time our family has experienced birthday celebrations, anniversaries, weddings, travel, visits to see family, and family visits to see us, a state fair, and yesterday we experienced loss.



Yesterday was a difficult day for us. I'm typing through my tears as I tell you that we had to say goodbye to our Roscoe. If you haven't visited my blog before, let me tell you a little about our sweet pup. He was a miniature schnauzer who was the "runt" of the litter.

As he grew, it was evident he would surpass his "runtness", we say it was because he was so loved that he grew past the normal mini size of a schnauzer (just like Clifford the "Big Red Dog", remember that book/show?).

Roscoe was a part of our family. He was with us for almost 12 years. My aunt and uncle gave him to us when he was 8 weeks old and he took a plane ride from TX to AZ (where we were living at the time), to come and live with us. He was such a cute puppy and had a beautiful face.....still kept his good looks throughout his life too. :) Our boys were thrilled to have a new puppy those many years ago. Our youngest was 3 and our oldest was almost 6 when Roscoe became a family member. They are now 15 and 18, so the boys have grown up with him.

(one of his favorite sleeping positions!)

So, when we took him into the vet on Monday because he was having difficulty breathing....(we were thinking he had a cold or bronchitis, etc.), after many tests and blood work, the doctors diagnosed him with congestive heart failure . We had to make a very difficult decision....what was best for Roscoe? The prognosis wasn't good. What would be his quality of life on oxygen and medication for the short time they predicted his life expectancy? It was a hard life lesson for our boys and for the parents as well.

(taken about 5 years ago~both boys are almost as tall as my husband now....Roscoe loved to travel with us.)

We said our goodbyes to our sweet puppy, and now we will have to adjust to life without Roscoe....it is especially difficult for my boys who both have different ways of processing their grief because of their developmental disabilities. So, if you've ever loved a pet, I'm sure you understand our sadness.


Thank you Roscoe for loving us, and letting us love you. You were a precious part of our family. We will miss you. As my husband said yesterday, "You were a gift."

Roscoe Davis
1999-2010

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If you want to read more posts about Roscoe, click HERE