All Dogs Go To Heaven

Let me tell you about my friend. His name is Ruger and he was our constant companion.  He went everywhere with us from the lake to the beach to the bank. But I think his favorite place to be was home, curled up beside us on the couch. He was fast and furious. He loved to chase squirrels, birds, anything that moved. He loved the beach. He was a master of the art of twirling. Our sidekick, our buddy, our defender, our copilot, and more importantly our most loyal friend.  He was the Robin to our Batman, the Goose to our Maverick, the Leonard to our Sheldon. 


A friend of this caliber doesn't deserve to have to endure one ounce of pain. So it is with great sadness and regret  that I must to tell you that our dear  friend left this world on Thursday, April 12th. 

I would like to share with you some of our favorite moments in the life of this lovable soul. 

Fourth of July on the lake.

Heavy eyes.

At the  rose garden .

Made a new friend.

Snuggling.

Snoozing in one of his crazy positions.

One of my favorites.

Get a treat for this I will!

High speed twirl.

The present snooper.

Fishing with his folks.

Totally busted!

Congratulating Dad on his thunder chicken.

Stalking a bird, as usual.

Posing for Aunt Alison.

Helping me out in the office.

Chillin at the lake.

Searching for brush piles.

Roogy the red nosed bird dog.

Caught swiping graham crackers.

The play bow.

This is bananas!

Family pic at Christmas time.

Staring down a turkey.

Roogy Clause.

We will miss you dear friend, but we know that we will see you again one day. Love you Roo!

A good dog never dies, he stays with you always, he walks beside you on crisp autumn days, when frost is on the fields and winter's drawing near, his head within our hand, in his old way." -Anonymous. 

MEAT!

Bucket List Adventure #5 - Eat a steak all by myself. 

Who's ready for a big juicy rib eye?? 

    

  This guy --->

Going...

As soon as we brought the rib eye out his eyes glazed over and drool started to form. And I could have sworn I heard Briscoe Darling's voice in the background yelling, "Meat!" We cut it up for him and I think it took all of about ten seconds for him to devour it. 

Going....

GONE!

 The excited twirl he performed after he finished said, "My compliments to the chef!"

Stick a fork in bucket list adventure #5, it's done!

A pic from earlier - Roo making sure Dad gets it right!

Leggo My Eggo!

Bucket List Adventure #4 - Go on an Easter egg hunt.

Hunting runs in my dog's blood. It's what he was born to do. It's instinctive. Too bad we never actually trained him to hunt game. He's more of a professional crumb hunter . If there is a leftover within miles , he is on it. He can track down a wayward  french fry like nobody's business. So, what could be better than an Easter egg hunt with eggs filled with steak bites, cheese, and turkey? 

Roo spots his first egg.

He's a natural. 

Leggo my eggo!

We have certainly had our ups and downs with Roo this week. He is more energetic during the day so we try to use that time to do something special for him. Despite the underlying sadness, we really enjoyed our time outside with him Sunday. Its during times like this that we get to see the dog that we know him to be. The happy, energetic little speed demon who is sometimes a bit spastic and always ready for a race. Our hearts were smiling.

You Scream, I Scream...

And now we all bark for ice cream. 

Bucket List Adventure #3 - Eat doggie ice cream.

"I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream." - Heywood Broun

Yes, this was a first for Roo. Sure, he's licked one of our almost empty bowls of vanilla before, but this....this was his first bowl all to himself. This was not a runny puddle of leftover melted vanilla, this was fresh out of the carton peanut butter ice cream.  So, if you're wondering how it went, just see for yourself....

(Bone Dry)

What can I say? He's a dog after my own heart. :)

Boys Will Be Boys!

Bucket List Adventure #2 - Run wild & free in the fields, creek, & pond. 

You know how the saying goes. Boys will be boys... Well, Ruger and his cousin Nitro didn't disappoint! These two guys were going crazy and the sheer joy on  their faces was contagious.  

If there is an upside to this situation, it's that Ruger doesn't feel the stress that we do.  He doesn't know what we know and I am so thankful for that.  Ruger is still living his life to the fullest and reminding us that we need to do the same. We shouldn't just stand on the sidelines. We need to get in the game. Swing for the fences. Dream big. And whenever possible and as often as possible, let go and have the time of our lives. 

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." - Joe Lewis

Shop Till You Drop...

Bucket List Adventure #1 - Visit Pet Smart and pick out a toy.

We knew we had a big day of shopping ahead of us so first we stopped for fuel. (AKA the biggest burrito I've ever seen for me & some chips-n-cheese for Roo)

With two full bellies we headed to Pet Smart to pick out his toy.

As you can see it was a tough choice.

Needless to say, this guy had a blast. He was living it up! We browsed, we played, we socialized, and he even conned me into getting him some frozen peanut butter yogurt. 

    

   

We may have left with a little more than originally planned....

Judging by the amount of time it took for him to pass out when we made it home, I'd call this day  and adventure number one, a total success.  

I'd like to thank Alison Creasy Photography for tagging along and acting as our personal paparazzi for the day. You can check out more pics like these at www.alisoncreasyphoto.com