Rosie came into our lives an all-too-brief seven years ago. She brought with her the biggest heart and sweetest personality one pup could ever possess. This was a golden retriever with a heart of gold. She spent her life making people happy, from the UPS man, who loved seeing her resting her head on the windowsill looking out at him, to Justin, who, even if he brought his race car home in pieces on a Saturday night, would soon be smiling when she began "attack licking" him all over the face. It sure made me happy when I'd walk into the house to be greeted like a rock star by my "Puppy Girl", even if the underlying reason for the greeting was the treat she knew I'd give her. Yes, making us happy was her lot in life. But no one was happier than Kathy. Kathy was happy to give Rosie insulin shots twice a day; happy to clean up after her when her poor little diabetic bladder just could not hold any more; happy to spend thousands of dollars to repair the cataracts in Rosie's eyes so she could once again go outside and chase butterflies and watch the rabbits from the window.
Rosie had more health problems than you could shake a stick at, whatever that really means, but you would never know it. She was just always happy. She had a real purpose in life, in addition to bringing joy to every person she encountered. The day she joined my sister's household, the neighbor got Kathy's mail and mistakenly opened it, so he came to her door to apologize. When he saw the newest addition to the family, he asked if he might bring his wife and daughter Tory to meet little Rosie. It was a quick decision on their part to adopt Rosie's brother, Passion. Justin, working at home at the time, found himself to be the newly-assigned dog whisperer to both Rosie and Passion, and passion was exactly what existed in the relationship shared by Justin, Rosie, and Passion as he loved them with all his heart and they adored him and accepted him as their alpha dog and number one love of their life.
It wasn't long before Justin and Tory, having absolutely nothing but two golden retriever pups in common, began to take walks with Rosie and Passion. The walks got to be longer and longer. Next thing we knew, Tory, a singer and dancer, started going to Justin's races...and even into the pits. Justin was attending Nutcracker performances and voice recitals. This June, we have a wedding to celebrate.
So our little Rosie came along and created a whole lot of happiness. I hope one day my grandchildren can sit with me with their own little pup while I tell them the story of how their Mommy and Daddy met and became a family, all because of puppy love.
Copyright Priscilla Garamella 2011
Absolutely, spot on. What a beautiful tribute to a very special member of our family. I hope it is not disrespectful to say, but Rosie was a lot like our own mother in the sense that each of her children had his/her own place within her heart. Mom loved each of her children in a special and unique way. So too, Rosie held each of us in a special place in her heart and there was no limit or expiration date on that love. She made me a better person. I will always carry that love wherever I go.
ReplyDeleteWhat a marvelous, touching story!!! I will think of it whenever I hear the expression puppy love!!
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