It did not take long for Roxie to steal her Daddy's heart. At first he was so cautious with her because she was so small. He was afraid he would not see her and step on her. When we went to visit her Daddy for her first weekend in the country I had strict instructions to bring her crate because she needed to sleep on the porch with his two labs. I finally convinced him that it was way too cold on the porch for such a little puppy. He finally agreed that we could bring her crate into the living room. For the first night, that is where she stayed. He checked on her a couple of times during the night. On the second night, he said she looked so sad in the crate all by herself that he was going to let her sleep on the bed with us. I said to myself, "You go girl!"

My husband also built her a special pen for our apartment that was 4 feet by 6 feet. It was only about 12 inches high, but she stayed in it for a good 4 months. It was big enough for a small bed, her water and lots and lots of toys. One day she was standing up with her front paws on the top of the board. I thought to myself it won't take long, she will soon figure out she can jump over it. Sure enough, when my husband arrived for the weekend, she got so excited, jumping up and down and wagging her tail 90 miles an hour she accidentally fell over the top and we were never able to contain her after that.

He was also very insistent that we should not feed her people food. Well that did not last long. A couple of months later he was having a piece of apple pie while watching TV. Roxie came on over, very patiently sat right in front of him, she stared at him and didn't take her eyes off of him, sniffing the air, trying to figure out what that apple pie tasted like. He tried to ignore her, but she was so cute, and so persistent that he finally gave in and gave her a taste. As they say, the rest is history. What ever her Daddy was eating she got a taste. He was even the one who started making ribs for her just so she could chomp on a bone or two. In her first year I remember eating more T-bone steak and rib dinners than usual. If we were having breakfast, he made her scrambled eggs and bacon.

When Roxie was 7 months old, I started working out of town and the office scheduled me for a 3 day class. I wouldn't have time to go back to the hotel to let her out of her crate or take her out for a potty break, so I decided to leave her with her Daddy. My husband said she sat on the porch staring at my tail lights until it disappeared. He said she sat there for 30 minutes before she moved. He tried to coax her away but she would not budge. She did not want anything to eat, did not want to play ball, or go for a walk, she just stared at the road. I guess she thought I would come back for her. Roxie mopped around all week and he finally gave in and my husband drove 200 miles to bring her to me.

But even funnier is that it was the very same weekend that Miss Roxie became of teen-ager of sorts and we had to go to the store for special doggie pants and pads. My husband was just beside himself. He could not believe that he had to change her pads for her. He was in and out of the house so often, working outside, walking though the woods etc., that he ran through his supply pretty quick. He even had to make a special trip to town some 20 miles away. In the end, he decided that they would have to spend most of their time outside so she wouldn't have to wear the pants, but really, it was so he wouldn't have to change her. It would take him forever to change her because she was constantly wiggling around. I told him he should leave it on and he said no, it made her walk funny.

I remember that one day my husband went to town and he and Roxie came home with a new pet. He said Roxie needed a small buddy to play with on the porch. He had bought a small furry brown rabbit. We had it for a couple of weeks, but it developed a bad case of the fleas and we had to let it go. Now who in their right mind would buy a dog a pet rabbit? I think Roxie thought she was human. My husband went around spelling the word dog and made sure no one said the word out loud, so I am sure Roxie didn't know for a long time that she really was a dog.

Roxie really loved to go exploring in the woods. Sometimes if you didn't have an eye on her, she would was just take off into the brush. A couple of times she disappeared from sight because she was so small you just could not see her. That is when we got her a white T-shirt to wear when she went outside. At least that way she would be easy to find when she ran into the woods. My husband would also put her leash on and they went into the woods together and she would investigate everything. My husband even took his riding lawn mower into the woods and blazed a winding path through the woods for her to walk on her potty breaks. He made a special street sign, painted the name "Roxie Trail" and put it at the entrance into the woods.

My husband usually joined us at the apartment on weekends. He loved taking her for walks. They would not go far on their walks; they usually walked around the apartment building a couple of times. I remember it was raining really hard one day and she had to go. He put on her bright yellow raincoat and he grabbed the umbrella and off they went. I waited around the corner and popped out and took their picture. Most dog clothes are not pretty; I had gotten to where I had perfected a crochet pattern for a dress with ruffles and matching vests and hats. Roxie would wear them in the winter time. One time my husband dressed her and her vest was inside out, but he couldn't tell. The one thing he could not do was figure out how to make a bow stay in her hair.

Roxie got lots of presents for her first Christmas, it was great! We all got her new toys for presents, some shirts, and treats. For her second Christmas, my husband bought her a special pad to lie on and more toys. I had strict instructions not to tell his kids that he bought Christmas presents for Roxie. I had taken a picture of him puckering up his lips to give Roxie a kiss. Again I had strict instructions not to tell his kids. During the winter time, it is very cold in the country. We gave Roxie a bath about once a week and during the winter, my husband would put her towel in the dryer so she could warm up and dry quicker. Roxie always paced the tub during bath time. It got to where she knew what the word bath meant, she would try to hide. My husband started to spell the word, but I swear she figured it out and could spell as well.

One weekend, my husband came to town to join us at the apartment, it was her birthday, and Roxie was turning one year old. A few minutes later he said he was going to the grocery store to pick up something to make for dinner. He came home with T-Bones steaks and a birthday cake for Roxie. Roxie got all the bones and a slice of birthday cake. He even posed her sitting at the dining room table with a piece of cake with a candle on it. From then on, we would celebrate her birthday with a special cake. A local grocery store makes birthday cakes in the shape of a dog, with cool whip frosting which we ordered several times since.

Just prior to her second birthday, my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer. The picture of my husband and Roxie posing with her birthday cake is the last picture taken of my husband. I had ordered her the cool whipped dog cake and she had a pink bow in her hair. After my husband passed away, his son came for the funeral and I showed him all the pictures of the two of them. He really had to stare at some on them, he could not believe his eyes, could not believe it was his Dad; could not believe that a dog would have affected him that much. He said they were not allowed inside dogs the whole time they were growing up and said this was a side of him that they never saw.

A lot of what my husband taught her definitely shaped her personality. He was the open who taught her how to cock her head to one side when asked a question. A lot of her best pictures show her this way. I even taught Roxie how to say good morning to a specific person. I would say Roxie tell your Daddy Good Morning. She would immediately go to him and start wagging her tail and half bark at him until he said Good Morning and patted her on the head or rubbed her tummy. She did this with family and friends as well.

Roxie was a very special dog. I don't care what anybody says, you can tell when a dog is happy. I could tell by her "expressions" when she was happy because her eyes sparkled and when she wanted to go along because she gave you those sad puppy eyes, take me along. You could see how excited she was about doing certain things or making sure she had your attention and you knew she was waiting for her BBQ rib or steak bone. She was intent on her walks and would investigate everything. She took her guard dog job seriously and even as small as she was, the pool man was afraid of her when she was in her protection mode. Roxie was very intent when it came to playing ball. She would not take her eyes off the ball and with those big blank eyes you could see how focused she was. Roxie knew how to get love, but most of all, how to give love. There will never be another Roxie.