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Rocky was good with other dogs, and learned to respect other animals when I asked him to. He was great with strangers, especially kids. He helped teach hundreds of young children about dog bite prevention and responsible dog ownership.
He was a marvelous assistant in puppy classes, when evaluating other adult dogs, teaching classes, and doing public events. He would hold any position I needed him to when teaching students how to teach their dogs, and I often caught them smiling at his willingness to persevere when showing them how to do something he already knew quite well. He was a great helper. I trusted him very much, and we had a good working relationship. Mostly, I mean to say that he was just plain good.
Rocky taught me a great many things about obedience training and competition. He earned a CGC easy, two CD’s (we never did get those last two Open legs), a number of placements and one time a High In Trial. The last time we went into the ring, he didn’t compete but served as a courtesy dog. We both enjoyed that experience immensely, and I am so grateful for that. He also passed the Responsible Dog and Owner Test under an independent judge. I have it on video, and it is one test of his obedience that I actually enjoy watching, because he was so good. I am so proud of his performance on that day.
He was an inspiration to my clients and students, and will continue to help me through my stories, photos in my handouts, video on the web, and other ways.
When Rocky got sick, I expressed my appreciation for his lifelong devotion to me by taking it as an opportunity to give back to him. I cared for him at home, with many veterinarian visits and phone call discussions each day about how we could make him comfortable and help him to recover. But that was not meant to be.
In the end, what made Rocky most beautiful in spirit was so very strong, he passed that beauty through us to ease our pain when he left us. He was gentle, sweet, sensitive, peaceful, graceful, loving and forgiving. Those qualities were truly a part of him at his core. And we felt all of those things in those last few moments. It brings me great comfort that I was there, and that it went so well, and that it went so well because of those precious qualities that he shared with us all of his life. What a beautiful dog!
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