Day by Day

There is still a lot of sadness in our house. My daughter seems most upset by the suddenness of it all, and her inability to "say goodbye" to Rocket. I have to admit that I feel the same way. By the time we found him, I don't think he recognized us anymore. He was just too close to death. So, while I was there, it doesn't feel like Rocket was really there, and it feels like he died alone.

What I find myself thinking about is every time I refused him some more dinner, wouldn't let him take my couch spot, moved him out of my way when watching TV, etc. You know, all the little times I could have been a bit nicer to him. Of course, I should remember all the times he stole food from the counter or ate garbage or chewed up clothing. That would make this all easier to deal with.

Everyone seems to be making up for the absence of Rocket by showering love on Nikki, our other ridgeback. She seems to be taking it all in stride so far. Nikki has always been fairly aloof and indifferent, if not rude, to Rocket, and she doesn't seem disturbed by his absence at all.

Last night, my daughter suggested we get another dog immediately and name it Rocket Junior. I said I didn't think I could deal with another dog named Rocket, but that just "RJ" might work. But, I also said that I needed some time before we have another dog. Ski season starts in a few months and we are gone from the house almost all day every weekend for months. That's not a good environment for a puppy.

But, perhaps, by springtime, things will align and we'll find another ridgeback puppy.

Nobody in the house worked out the last two nights. I have to say that this isn't really surprising. I'm hoping to run a little bit this evening. I'm entered in a 5K on Sunday (don't ask me why - it will be my slowest ever), so I need to take it fairly easy tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll do an upper body lifting session before watching some college football.