Tag: dogs

Boys,

I realize that as you get older, you might not remember a lot about this time in your lives. So, I think it makes sense to highlight some of the people and, in this case, animals, that are shaping this time in your life. Of course, I think it only makes sense to start with your dog, Rogue.

I had one dog growing up, and as far as I can remember, we probably only had her for a few months. Her name was Cinders and she had a tendency of jumping the fence and running away. Then, I think she jumped through the screen door and the next day she was “living on the farm.” Never found out where that farm was…

Your mom had dogs her whole life. Most of them had the same name as previous dogs, but there was always a dog there at the golf course and it was something she’s determined to give to you boys.

Enter Rogue…

We got Rogue from the Franklin County Dog Shelter two days after Christmas in 2012. We went the day after Christmas and looked at a few dogs, but the one we were going to get was a little hyper and peed in his cage, and although I’m sure he was a good dog, I had enough concern for our first dog. So we went home and were going to think on Petey. So when we came back the next day, we walked the row of dogs, and this big black dog we didn’t see the day before hopped his front paws up on the cage and barked at us like he knew something.

Your mom was in love. There was another puppy I wanted to meet, but we saw that black dog first and when we met him, he went right up to your mom and sat down in front of her like he was having a conversation with her. We took him for a little walk around the parking lot and the rest is history.

Your mom named him Rogue after “Rogue Dead Guy Ale.” Who knows if that will mean anything to you by the time you’re reading this, but it was her favorite beer when she was in college and he just looked like a Rogue. Anyway, he moved in with us in our first apartment in New Albany, and has been with us through the condo in Dublin, our first house in Powell, and our current house in Powell.

I remember we tried to take him to obedience training at a few places not too long after we got him. He was such a showboat in class, acting like he was the blue ribbon winner at whatever little assignment he was given, then would go home and totally not do a single thing that he was soooo good at in class. Such a Rogue move.

Believe it or not, Rogue used to be a runner and helped me train for my races. He could go 3, 4, sometimes even up to 5 miles with me. Now, he can barely get around the block without pretending to smell some people’s grass, but really, he’s just trying to take-o un break-o because he’s just old and slow. One time, when we just got him, your mom made some chocolate chip cookies and left them on the counter. Rogue hopping his little self up and ate the entire batch. Well I was going to run him to make him think about his decisions, and I still remember the biggest poo I’ve ever seen — right on the corner near an intersection at that. It was so big it is probably still there today. I call it the great cookie poo of 2012.

Eventually, he stopped running with me. But eventually, Reagan, you came along. From the day you got home, Rogue was nothing but sweet and loving to you and he knew you were part of the family right away. He would sometime avoid you because you were a little unpredictable, but he never did anything to make us nervous and would just need a little love while you were asleep.

Once Koen came into the picture, Rogue was as chill as he’s ever been and you both can roughhouse with him and he totally gets it. One thing you love him to do, Reagan, is to get him all wound up to the point that he does his zoomies. I assume most dog people know what that is without explanation, but basically, he just dashes from one side of the room to the other like a maniac. In his old age, your mom doesn’t want him to tear another ACL, so by the time he zooms upstairs for the first time and scatter-paws himself on the bare floor, it’s usually time to quit.

Like most of us, he’s not all perfect. He has a tendency to be a beggar-dog when it comes to certain food, and while some people might suggest that it is on the dog owner to regularly brush a dog, I think he purposely leaves tumbleweeds of black hair around the house. I believe there will be Rogue hair in our house for the next 20 years, no matter how many times we clean it.

All in all, he’s probably the best dog there is and I really hope you both have some memory of him. He loves you both very much and will not handle it well when we get a new dog, which we plan to do in the next few months. But until then, and until THAT post comes out, cheers to your big, black, crazy pup, Rogue.

Dad