I’m at a place in my life where I’m grateful for so much. To begin with, I have my health, a sweet place to live, a wonderful family including 2 cutie grandsons, and a dog named Roxie. And, boy, am I thankful for Roxie. Let me tell you a little about her.

How my pet and I found each other.

Unlike a lot of kids, I didn’t grow up with dogs.  However, when we lived in Florida, I got one for my two daughters. Our pet dog Jivery was an Australian Shepherd and he was the light of my life (after the kids, of course). Jivery and I were inseparable and we were together until he was 16 years old. Shortly after he passed, I moved to Ohio. My heart was broken and I vowed I would never get another dog.  

I was working as the Dance Director at a lovely ballroom dance studio in Cincinnati. It’s called Dare To Dance and if you’re in that area, I highly recommend you check it out.  I had a few private students.  My student Bob is a veterinarian.  The SPCA would bring the strays they picked up to his clinic.

I told Bob about Jivery and how I was through with pet dogs because I couldn’t bear going through the pain of losing it again.  And, he respected that until one day, after about three years of teaching him, he showed me a picture of a new dog the SPCA had brought to the clinic.  “Do you want to meet her? She’s about 5 months old. Australian Shepherd.”

What a beautiful pup!  It was a few days before Christmas and I was feeling kinda merry, so I said to myself, “Why not?  Couldn’t hurt to look.”  In my mind, she looked like a Roxie. 

I always wondered why I had already named her before I even met her. LOL.  The next day, a dog named Roxie came home with me.   

Idiosyncrasies of My Pet, Roxie

Fast forward 6 years and now we’ve settled in North Carolina.  Roxie is a typical high-energy Aussie and needs lots of activity.  We spend a good deal of time outside.  Walking around checking out the area is our favorite thing to do.  Once, after a hurricane, she was snooping around outside and stuck her nose in a beehive.  Poor baby!  A cold compress made her feel better.

As a public service announcement, here’s the Dance Safari post, “What to Do When You’re Waiting for a Hurricane“.

One thing we’re working on is getting her to stop barking at trucks.  Pickup trucks, box trucks (like UPS and FedEx), and garbage trucks are particularly annoying to her. 

Cute Stuff My Pet Does

Seems like Roxie has figured out how to communicate with me.  In fact, some of the signs I’ve learned to recognize are:

• “Open the front door so I can watch the world go by.”
• “Kidding, I really gotta go potty.”  
• “I want to eat.”  She’ll go and stare at the cupboard that holds her food.  Does anyone else have a dog that licks it’s lips and swallows when you ask if they’re hungry? That cracks me up.
• “Good morning.  Here are your shoes.  Get up.”

Yup, I figured out what questions to ask.  Right!  I wonder who’s training who?

The future.

Life with a dog named Roxie is never boring. Indeed, I couldn’t imagine being without her. Accordingly, my plan is that she and I grow old together. As a matter of fact, my friends and family know, “Love me, love my dog”.