ROXY: The greater the Love, the deeper the Sorrow...

 

Our precious baby girl, 

ROXY (fka Wonder)

has gone to the Rainbow Bridge 

Sunday,  August 13, 2023

Following is a Pictorial Memory Garden

to her memory, for the couple that found her in California, and rescued her, as well as for the folks at Saving Paws Rescue AZ who took her in, so that we could be fortunate enough to be able to adopt her, as well as for all the friends that she made in the last 4-1/2 years, and for her Uncles Jerry and Darren and Aunts Sue and Rozz.

We could not have asked for (or deserved) a better dog.

It is with our deepest and most painful regret that we inform all our friends of the passing of our much loved Roxy girl. She has now gone to the  Rainbow Bridge peacefully. and our sole consolation is the knowledge that one day we will get to join her, never again to be parted, when our own time comes. Still, for now and until then, our hearts are broken into a million pieces. There won't be a day that we won't think of her life with us, and we will always carry her ashes with us, where ever we go. She has left such a deep void in our lives. We pray that the pain of her loss will subside in time, though our love for her never will.

Through extensive testing at Vet Med AZ, an Emergency & Specialty Veterinary Hospital, (suggested by SPR) she had Inflammatory Bowel Disorder and lately also  Elbow Dysplasia. About two weeks prior, Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) has been added to her growing list of illnesses. According to the Vet, DM has no cure and will only keep deteriorating her condition. It is a hereditary disease that weakens the hind limbs and will eventually cripple her, causing her much pain. Despite all the hardships experienced with Roxy's trials and tribulations, made all the more sensitive by living part to most time in an RV, and in spite of all the expenses of so many needed vet and specialty care visits and tests, as well as about $500/month in vet Rx food and meds, we are absolutely blessed to have been able to share the last 4+ years with Roxy, to love her and feel her love for us, and be able to care for her trying to minimize and counter whatever negatives she has faced in the first half of her life. We love her soooo much and the crater she leaves in our hearts may never be filled again, because we doubt that we will ever find another dog that will measure up to what she has been for us.

She was treated for the IBD with Budesonide (a steroid) which makes her always hungry, (no matter how much she eats), so we balanced her weight with diet and exercise. Because she could not eat ordinary people food, but to make her think she was getting something extra, Bill taught her to eat  (crunch) and love ICE. Then he taught her how to catch it from about 10 feet away, and after that how to take it from his mouth ever so gently. She also gets Gabapentin (for pain), Forti Flora SA probiotics, and Ursodiol. The elbow dysplasia does not help because it makes her elbows weaker, and apparently at some point in her previous life (previous to us) the vet suspects she suffered a broken or fractured arm, which apparently never healed properly. This poor girl must always have been suffering to some extent, one way or another, to some degree; but you would not know it, because she never complained, and where ever Mom and Dad are going, she has always been ready and wanting to go with us. 

We travel in large RVs but all have 5-6 steps in/out. Still she has always loved going along with us, has traveled in 19 states and quite often been a tourist attraction, herself, with everyone wanting to pet her and have their photo taken with her. One can tell how much she loved the attention. Here she is at Horseshoe Bend, near Page, AZ. She is always such a sweetheart that she seemed more popular than even the scenery or location. A group of Asian tourists all wanted to pet her and have their photos taken with her. Others, German and English tourists also wanted to love on her. And she loves being petted and loved on, and being the center of attention. We kept her on a leash because that was the site rules, but she was even better Off-Leash, after a 2-week training with Abe Fabela, a professional 'Off Leash' Dog trainer.

For the last two months or so she has started having daily diarrhea, which then changed to wanting to go potty but not being able to go (as with severe constipation). Then suddenly last week she took a turn for the worse. The diarrhea (totally liquid this time) came back, accompanied by throwing up (first her food and then just bile, when there was no food left in her stomach). Wednesday and Thursday we had to stay up with her in the living room so we could hear if she was getting fidgety as if needing to 'go out'. However, by Friday she started with heavy diarrhea often with no warning. Poor baby, we could tell by her demeanor that she was so embarrassed, knowing that she was not supposed to do that in the RV, but having no control of herself. Though we kept reassuring her that it was OK, her facial expressions were of shame, as she hung her head and gave us pouty eyes.

By Friday and Saturday nights she would no longer go back into the motorhome, staying outside. Thankfully, despite the cold weather at night (40s deg. F) there was NO RAIN. Mary stayed with her outside, with some cushions and her sleeping bag. 

On Saturday we called the vet, who told us not to feed her anything for dinner , which was really hard because she is always so hungry. She said to feed her again  1/5 of her daily food dose on Sunday morning and feed her 5 times a day instead of her usual 3. However on Sunday morning, despite not having had anything to eat since 2:00pm on Saturday, she barely drank any water but had absolutely no interest in her food AT ALL. This, from a girl that has always been ravenous to eat, due to the steroids. She was also having trouble even just getting up, but managed to do so to move out of the sun and into the shade, though we had rigged her elevated bed sideways to give her some shade and keep the sun out of her eyes and later we even set up her elevated bed in the shade, with a ramp up to it, but she just laid on the gravel next to it. Frankly, we didn't know if she would even last through Sunday night, but again decided that if she did we would ask the vet to euthanize her as soon as humanely possible on Monday; but when she was just not interested in eating or  drinking and her demeanor changed to not even being able to smile anymore, we realized that it would be unfair to her to drag it out any longer and decided to put her down as soon as possible, to end her suffering and pain. The job of Mom & Dad is not an easy one, and it carries a responsibility to always protect our babies from needless suffering when there is no more Hope, as well as from any harm even when they are well. So we can only hope and trust that we have done our best, for her.

Foreseeing that he r end was near, last week, based on the continuing deterioration of her health, we had made the appointment for the procedure a week out, for the Friday, August 18th, to be able to rent a golf cart on Monday to give her rides, which was a favorite activity for her, while sitting between us; and to be able to carry her onto our bed to snuggle with us (another favorite) and spend some quality time with her. However, Friday she suddenly took a turn for the worse and we knew it we would probably not have much time (if any) next week, to wait until next Friday... perhaps just Monday or Tuesday, if we were lucky, which we weren't. Saturday evening's further decline cast doubts on even waiting until Monday. By Saturday evening her mood and demeanor had changed completely. She spent the day (Saturday) with constant liquid diarrhea and vomiting, first of her previous food intake and all the poop that as the vet described it... "her intestines and colon are not only full but distended from accumulation, so at least she is finally being able to get it all out, but due to her condition, she will probably never recover from this. Finally when that ended, she was exhausted and laid town unable to get back up voluntarily. Her ever present smile and good cheer had vanished, and the most she did was to lick us as we lay by her side, promising we would take care to end her suffering... soon. Sunday morning we realized that "soon" had to be "as soon as possible"... meaning right away. 

So we spent the days and nights outside with her, at her side, and called the vet at noon on Sunday, to arrange for an emergency euthanasia the same day. We were surprised that she would do so and the poor lady was already at the clinic with a dog with a broken leg, and another injured in a dog fight, and a third one that came in while we were waiting, who had been hit by a car. After 4 hours though she called saying that she was ready for Roxy. So, we carried her into the back of the Ford Explorer, which is where she always rode when we went anywhere in the Explorer, because she has her own 'ducted' A/C to that area and the most room for her to be able to stretch out. We took her pink blanket that her rescuers in California sent to SPR with her, and her little Lambie (a squeaky toy), which a neighbor had given her and which she loved to sleep with and cuddle with it. We had them do the procedure right there where she laid in the back of the Explorer, because we figured that she would be more at ease there, than being carried off into the vet clinic (which she was not too fond of, anyway).

It has been our observation that despite her separation anxiety she is OK with being left alone in either of our car or truck, or in the motor home, as long as we tell her (as we always have) "We'll be back". But whenever we leave her at PetSmart for a beauty spa day, even saying "we'll be back" does not minimize her separation anxiety. So we opted to put her down in the back of our Explorer on Sunday, August 13, 2023. Now we'll have to live with the constant reminder that that is where she died, but the consolation is that she died peacefully in familiar surroundings, in the arms of her Mom and Dad, holding her and kissing her and telling her that she won't suffer anymore. We didn't lie, but it is WE who will suffer now, trying to find a way to live without her in our lives.

We have both loved and lost other four pawed companions and the decision to take them to the Rainbow Bridge is never an easy one, but after much deliberation and seeing the gradual but progressive decline in her health, as well as in her demeanor, we felt that no matter how much we may have wanted to hang on to her, it was not fair to make her continue her internal suffering. Roxy has always been identified by her veterinarians (and her professional dog trainer) as 'very stoic', meaning that no matter how she feels (physically or emotionally, inside) she will never show it externally. The dictionary defines it as "A person (well, to us she is a person... she's our adopted daughter) who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings, or complaining." That describes ROXY to a T.  And though she never shows how bad she feels, we can now see it in her deteriorating condition and demeanor, mostly because now she does not even want to eat anymore, barely drinks water, just lays down and NO LONGER SMILES. The most she does is to lick us when we caress her and tell her it will be all right soon, as if saying that she knows she can count on us to take care of her and minimize her suffering. 

Roxy was a Saving Paws Rescue (www.savingpawsrescueaz.org) GSD dog. They were not sure how old she was but they thought she was at about 5+ yrs old then (February 2019), so she's about 9-10 years old now. 

We want to say Thank You to Mark and Kathy Walker, who found her wandering in a California forest, and though they couldn't keep her due to an abundance of other pets of their own, took her in and called a friend, who they knew worked with a GSD pet rescue (though be it in Phoenix AZ). Mark and Kathy, she was the greatest gift you have given us. Thank you! And FYI, she still has the pink blanket you sent with her, and she has always had a fondness for it. We will cut a piece of it and wrap her ashes in it, in her box, where along with Mary's  other GSD, Kaiser (2000 - 2010) will continue to travel side by side with us in our RVs. IF you would like a portion of her pink blanket, we would be glad to send it to you. We will be posting a Pictorial Memory Garden on our blog soon (www.roughingitgently.com) in our girl's honor with photos of her life with us. Again thank your for rescuing Roxy. She deserved people who would love her.

Thank you also to the Transporter, Kenny Whittington (Mark & Kathy Walker's friend) who drove 6+ hours to go get her and 6+ hours back to the SPR shelter, Kenny Whittington of SPR (Saving Paws Rescue). 

Thanks also to Manan Dave, who figured she would be a great dog for RV parents, because she travels so well, and he was right. 

And thank you to all the volunteers at SPR, for the great work you do for these dogs, but especially to Kelly McQuillian, who always showed a special fondness for Roxy and drove 2+ hours (each way) to do our Home Inspection, in Benson AZ, to make our adoption final for Roxy. 

However, last but definitely not least, a very special Thank You also to Trish Houlihan, who  as volunteer at the local county animal shelter in 2012, saddened by the volume of German Shepherd dogs being listed for euthanasia... just because,.. founded  Saving Paws Rescue in Phoenix AZ, saving countless GSDs and finding good homes with the people who love them... like us.

The German Shepherd breed generally gets a bum rap, as a vicious and dangerous dog, probably because they are often used by the Police and Military organizations, for their intelligence, bravery and yes, aggressiveness when it is called for, but realistically in a home environment the GSD is one of the most intelligent, trainable, gentle, noble, and mostly loyal and loving of breeds. 

When we decided to adopt a dog, 9 years after Mary had to put Kaiser down due to Cancer, we were actually looking for a boy, because Mary's Kaiser was a boy and he had been a wonderful companion and friend. We keep Kaiser's ashes in a cabinet in the motor home and one morning shortly after bringing Roxy home, we got up and found Roxy in the living room staring at the cabinet where Kaiser's ashes were. She ignored us saying good morning to her and for about 5-10 minutes just stared at that cabinet. A few weeks later we noticed that Roxy had adopted some of Kaiser's traits and personality. Could be coincidence... or maybe their spirits are somehow connected. Now they are both  going to keep traveling with us side by side.  However, that will be the last dogs for us. In our 70's we couldn't bear going through the pain of such loss again. 

For a little over 3 years, while traveling in our motorhome/truck we carried a 4" toy resin dog (a GSD) who we called Rex, in the hopes of one day finding a real one to adopt. So when we called and submitted an application at SPR in 2019, we were actually looking for a male dog. However, we figured that they would probably reject us anyway, because we were living in a small Casita and traveled in a motorhome. But the next day Manan Dave called to say that we were approved and that they had the perfect dog for us... one who was house-trained and travelled very well. The only issue was that it was a GIRL named 'Wonder'. Manan sent us a photo and as Mary is always quick to point out to everyone, "One look at her eyes in the photos and Bill was smitten." TRUE FACT. Wonder, who we later changed to Roxy (sort of a feminine derivative of 'Rex') had the deepest, gentlest and most loving eyes, and as they say that the eyes are the windows of the soul, this proved to be true in her case. We went to 'visit' her to see if we each got along with the other. Manan said she had already been taken by another couple (on a trial basis) but was returned to SPR because she was aggressive with their cat. 

 

That is so hard for us to accept, seeing how gentle and friendly Roxy is with a neighbor's Siamese cat ('Buddy') and with all other critters she encounters. She has rubbed noses with two different cats (one who the owner said it hates big dogs) and with two horses, and will patiently sit by our side to just observe a herd of wild horses, a flock of sheep, the mule deer and a mama moose with her calf that visited us in winter, and one day while taking her out for a walk she stopped mid-stride and then blocked Bill's passage, and pointed out 2 baby ducks in the tall grass, right in front of him, who had wandered away from their mama, so he would pick them up and take them to a nearby creek. However, some people will make up the darnedest excuses when they are not a good fit. Anyway, we 'visited' for about 15 minutes and told Manan that a trial basis was not necessary, that we would all get along just fine. We took Roxy to our truck (F150) and asked her if she wanted to go Home with us. She LAUNCHED herself into the back seat and wore this huge grin all the way back to the house, in Benson. The rest, as they say, was history. I know everyone thinks that of their fur-babies, but to us Roxy was the BEST choice, and we feel pretty confident that she echoed the sentiment. 

We know we have done all we could for Roxy and that no one could love her more. We just hope it was enough to make up for the suffering she has endured in the first half of her life. Mary did not have any photos of Kaiser, so I made it a point to take plenty of Roxy and include some of them here, to share with you who knew her. However, all told we have over 1,900 photos and videos, so now the issue is to select the best ones.

Roxy, we love you, always will, and you can be assured that we will all see each other again, when our time comes. Below is a Photo Memory Garden to commemorate the life and love we have shared for 4-1/2 years, wishing wit could have been 9-10. 

These few were taken just as we were pulling out of SPR the 

day we picked her up. She was so happy... as were we.

She loved the motor home, especially taking Mommy's 

seat as the Co-Pilot, so she could tell Bill where to go. 

"Let's go, Dad!, Why aren't we moving?"

Whether in the RV or the truck, we would take her everywhere with us. At first she had separation anxiety real bad, but in time reinforcing telling her "We'll be right back" when we left her in the RV, truck or house (when we couldn't take her) and though the separation issues never fully disappeared, she was more at ease as long as we told her "We'll be right back.'

Don't know if she had ever been to a beach before us, but she loved it in Florida.

Though we put her through a two-week boarding Doggie Training with a professional Off-Leash Dog Trainer, even he said that the separation anxiety was the only thing that he could not break her of. However she walked better Off Leash, than on... always on the left and always by our side. And we always got compliments on her being so well behaved and minding every command we gave her. "Stay" worked only as long as she could see us. If we went around a corner or behind a car, she would break 'Stay' and go look for us.

She knew that she could not get on the furniture, except on one sofa that was her very own sofa. The RV Copilot seat and the bed in the bedroom (whether at home or in the RV) she had to be "invited" to get on it and she always respected that, but loved getting 'invited'.

Who says a GSD can't be a lap dog? This one time 

Daddy invited her on his chair, and she loved it.

This was her RV sofa with a protective cover and her pillow on it. The TV was behind her but she loved being able to see both of us across from her.

When she was rescued in Hesperia, California, the couple that found her sent this pink blanket with her. For whatever reason she has always been very attached to it, and we have made sure that it is always with her. She still has it today, and we will try to have the Cremation folks put in the box a piece of her blanket, and we will keep another part of it and offer a part of it to the folks that rescued her.  

 

Here she is with Mommy, while hiking thru an RV camping area in Cottonwood AZ

And in a forest and other trails.

And after long hikes she was ready for what she loved most... coming back to the base camp and hanging out with her peeps, laying on her canopied, elevated bed to be fed ice cubes and relax with Mom and Dad.

Here she is in Yellowstone National Park. She loves watching the Elk, Bear and Bison, but from a distance. She has more good sense than most 'tourists' that come wanting to take selfies with these wild animals.

In 2019-2020, our (Roxy and us) first Christmas together. 

She was not amused with the antlers, but tolerated them for the photo. 

Except when she got her German up, she was always so willing to please us.

One of her favorite things to do was to be invited to get on the bed with us. Can you tell by her big smile? She would eventually get too hot and jump down on her own, but until she did she would try to see how she could position herself to take as much of Daddy's side of the bed.

Lowe's was her favorite store to go visit, because she was ALWAYS welcome in there and seemingly everyone wanted to pet her there. But per chance if someone didn't volunteer to pet her, she would go solicit a petting, by putting her nose under their hand.... "You WILL pet me!" Generally we could leave her in an aisle and as long as she could see us she would stay there. However, she would always try to position herself to take up as much space as she could, so someone would pet her.

At the campgrounds, whether on grass, gravel or a cement pad, she always had her own raised bed to keep the bugs off of her and be cooler. It even had a canopy over it to help keep the sun off of her.

In the RV kitchen, waiting for her dinner. The poor thing was ALWAYS hungry due to the Budesonide (steroids) for her IBD. That's why Bill taught her to like ICE, so she could at least have the fantasy of 'eating' something (even if it was just water).

While we lived in Benson AZ for about a year after we adopted her we had a golf cart, which she absolutely loved riding on it. It had a fold out rear seat that we thought would be perfect for her to lay on, but she  said "NO!.. I'm riding in the front with either, or both of you".  And so, she always did. In Wyoming we didn't have a golf cart (and now we kick ourselves for not having gotten one for her) but we did have a JD zero-turn lawn mower, which as shown in the video further below, she would jump on to get her  'ride' fix. It's easy to see by her smile how happy she was riding the golf cart and saying Thank You to Dad for taking her for a ride in the desert.

She was always an Observer of Life (including other critters), She would never chase another critter with malicious intent, as here 'observing' the Sand Hill Cranes walk past our campground in Florida. Well, once or twice, IF she flushed out a Jack Rabbit (in Arizona) she would jump to give it chase... but just for the fun of chasing it, knowing full well that she would never really catch it. However, even so, IF Mommy said "Roxy, NO!" she would stop the chase instantly and return to Mom's side. What a good girl she was.💓

She loved it when Dad would clean out her ears and scratch them.

                      

And she always found the darnedest ways to position her body to sleep.

She loved to cuddle against Mom.

No, she wasn't being punished in the corner. Come to think of it she never nedded to be punished and rarely even let us down about anything. Here, taken from the Security Cam in the house, she would always wait at the door for about 3-5 minutes, when we left (in case we changed our minds and came back to invite her to go along), since usually we would take her along wherever we went. Then, usually, as soon as she heard the car back again, she would be at the door ready to greet us.

Meet the Cuddler...

And the Bed HOG

Here (above) she enjoyed sitting out with us on the 2nd floor deck, when we first bought this house, but the back deck had a golf course behind it and for whatever reason, she was deathly afraid of golf courses and golfers. I mean DEATHLY AFRAID. Even on the second floor deck, 50 yards away, she would just not sit out there during the day, when the golf course was open. But she knew they didn't play at night, so at night it was OK. Needless to say, Bill had to give up golf. But for her, he didn't really mind it. Maybe now he'll take it back up again.

She loved to watch the neighborhood from the 3rd floor balcony off the master bedroom, as well as from the second floor (front) deck, so she could survey her territory and go bark at anyone who came by to let them know that it was not OK to visit UNLESS they paid tribute with ample pets for her. Funny thing was that she barked the loudest when it was friends who came, hackles up and then would lick them to death. She loved Justin the UPS driver.

What a Lap Baby!

She loved going for walks with Mom and/or Dad.

In the house, this Loveseat was her one sofa she could get on without being invited, but even having to share it she always preferred one of us on it with her, so she could cuddle or get caressed or loved on, which was our favorite thing.

The back seat of the F150 and F350 was always ALL hers. We always had a hammock there to keep her safe during a car ride, plus tethered to a seat belt.

Keeping Dad company in the back yard, while Dad worked on the trees.

Did we say she liked to cuddle and be loved on?

Actually, she LOVED it. But football game time was not her favorite. For some reason the excitement and boisterous behavior seemed to scare her, even if we tried to cuddle were during that time. Mary's team U of Michigan and Bill's Texas Aggies never played each other, so we each supported and cheered for the same teams. She didn't care, she just didn't like it, so we hade to control ourselves when cheering. 

"How else can I take up more room on the King bed, so I can block Dad's space?"

When there were critters out on the road, she would sit on mommy's foot to observe them. Here a wild momma moose and her calf were on the road and normally wild critters (especially with their young) would take exception to a big dog out there with them, but she must give off  calming scent or demeanor so that other animals are not put out by her presence, like the horse in the video above, and others.

Wrapping her paws with Dad's warm shirt to snuggle on, while sitting next to Mom.

Mom is a great snuggler too.

"Oh boy! It snowed last night. Can I go play in it?"

"Mom is taking a shower, so I'll just keep her pillow warm for her, 

until she comes back, then I'll share it with her."

There were ALWAYS three Solo Cups for Happy Hour... Mom's and Dad's (with adult drinks), and Roxy's (always full of ice for crunching). Because of her IBD, that was the only thing she could 'eat'.

As evidenced in the videos and other photos above, she loved all people (adults and kids) and other critters (adults and babies). People with small dogs were always leery, expecially if their dog was afraid of bigger dogs from having been attacked previously, but as they approached Roxy, they became friends in no time at all. People everywhere always complimented us for "What a beautiful dog that is, and so well behaved. Well, she did go to a two-week boarding training with a professional Off-Leash Trainer, but we suspect a lot of it was just her own personality, as Bill could tell from her eyes the minute he first saw her.  

Are we going out for a walk, Dad? Can we? Can we?

En route from one destination to another, as is often the way of traveling RVers , here we stopped in an open field in Kimball, Nebraska off of Interstate 80.  

Sharing 'HER' back seat with Dad and her Best Friends, Jerry and Sue Hazen (Sue is in the front seat) with Mary, who both loved her very much, as much as we love their babies, Sadie and Charlie.

At Gator's Dockside in Port Canaveral FL where we went to meet 

friends and visit the area. Roxy went EVERYWHERE with us.  

This was her favorite place to travel in the motor home, because here she was right beside both Mom and Dad, and since Dad liked to crunch ice while driving, she was sure to get some too, and since the engine is in the rear, it was a quiet area. When she got tired of the hard floor (or Dad wasn't giving her any more ice) she would go back to her sofa.

What you got there Mom? Is it ICE for me?

At the REV Service Center for Fleetwood Motorhomes in Decatur Indiana. She always found the craziest places to lay down in or rest her head on.

She was happiest ANYWHERE, where Mom 

and/or Dad were... even out in a parking lot.

The receptionist at REV had to say good morning to all the doggies, because she is an animal lover, but she always seemed more partial to Roxy. 

She loved her back seat hammock.

She had this thing about her. She always knew in advance (based on our schedules) where we would need to stand or sit at any moment... and beat us to it to lie there before we got there. EITHER we would have to tell her to MOVE,  OR we would spoil her and just stand or sit around here. Yes, we are sure like most rescue dogs, she was very spoiled.    

The main (rearmost) full bathroom of the motorhome has a step up/down between the main floor and the bunk house area, next to the shower, so she would sleep with her body on the upper level and her head on the lower level. Go figure. How can anyone be comfortable like that, but that was the ways Roxy liked it. 

Eating a piece of ICE. That was the best thing that Bill taught her. At first she was just not interested in it, but he would tease her with it until he got her interest up. IF Dad is eating it it must be good, right. From then on that was her favorite treat and because it is just water, it is safe for her making her feel like she was eating, and at the same time helping to clean her teeth.

In her last week before she took that sudden turn for the worse, we took her to the Vet, Bridger Animal Hospital in Thayne, WY, She was always anxious to get out of there, so she and Dad went out ahead to put her in the truck, but she was having none of it. She had to wait for Mom to come out too, or she was not going anywhere (even with Dad)

She loved her back seat hammock in the old truck. So when we traded it on a new 2023 Ford Ranger, even though she was already starting to get sick, we ordered her a new hammock for the Ranger, hoping to make ter transits easier and to let her know that that is hers, just like the other one. Unfortunately, she never got to even get on it. She declined so fast that she could no longer get up there, not even with a ramp that we had bought her.    

The only treat we were able to give her before she lost total interest 

in food, was a bare leg bone to chew on, which she always loved. 

By her last two days on Saturday and Sunday, her demeanor had changed completely, she had lost most of her strength and her fabulous and ever-present smile was forever gone. But THIS is how we choose to remember her... a beautiful, loving and happy girl, that has now left such a void in our lives. RIP sweet baby girl, ROXY, Until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge