Remembering Roxy

Roxy was born on February 14, 2003 in Waimea on the island of Oahu. She was a mix of Border Collie and Australian Shepherd. I think there were four other siblings. I was fortunate to get to choose her.

From her Border Collie side, she was a great observer, listener, and incredibly intelligent. In fact, she was the smartest dog I’ve ever known. She learned to go potty outside during her first week at home. She learned tricks and routines in a very short amount of time. She could also perform these without needing me to use my voice; she knew what I wanted her to do just by watching my hands.

During her teen to adult years, she could be quite neurotic. As a working breed, some dogs have the desire to herd. While she never tried to herd anything or anyone, she’d constantly watch me like a herding dog, waiting for a command. If I moved, she’d want to follow with me. This was unnerving in the beginning but I got used to it. Because she was also part Australian Shepherd, she grew a thick under coat of fine fur; great for colder climates where the dog has to do a lot of things outdoor but not too great for Hawaii’s tropical heat and humidity. She quickly learned to gravitate toward areas with shade when going outside.

She never was a super affectionate dog. She’d come to greet me when I came home, but was never overly excited to see me. She didn’t really like hugs and kisses either and would scramble to get away. She simply would enjoy being in my presence. As long as I was in the room with her and she could watch me at a distance, she was content. At times, it felt like she was just tolerating me, but I grew to accept her as she was.

Thankfully, I never had any of the issues that other Border Collie owners often report, namely, that if they weren’t exercised daily, they often became destructive. Most of the time, Roxy was very mellow. She loved to just hang out and watch us live our lives. She did not like meeting new people or other dogs although I tried really hard to socialize her by taking her to the dog park daily in her early years.

It just goes to show that no one really knows what your dog will grow up to be like. What they’re like as a puppy might change as they get older. It’s a chance that every pet owner takes when adopting a cute furry friend. All we can really do is hope that as they grow, their personality and temperament matches us.

Roxy appeared on the local television show Pet Hui. Sorta kinda semi-famous.

During her early years, I had a short break between jobs and got to spend a lot of time with her as an unemployed papa. Eventually I got a job so she stayed at my grandparent’s house, which was easy since I lived on the same property. She quickly became my Grandfather’s playmate and spent most of her days with him (he was retired at this point.) She loved playing with Grandpa and would bring out a toy in the evening to coax him into to playing with her (for whatever reason, she never did this with me after her puppy phase.) She roamed freely between our two houses, but mostly enjoyed staying at their house.

In her later years, she’d gravitate more to our house. I’d like to think that it was because she loved me and Audra, but I actually think it’s because we always had the air conditioner on in one of the rooms.

Audra never had a chance to own a pet before. Although Roxy had been a part of our lives during the ten years we’ve been married, they’d never really connected with each other. I guess you could say that the air conditioning allowed her to become Audra’s daily companion. No matter the reason, it was so rewarding to see the two of them together. We finally felt like a family.

I feel badly that Audra didn’t have a lot of quality time with Roxy before she became a senior dog. Most of the time, we were helping her stand or walk around the house and neighborhood or carrying her out to go potty, but there were other good times as well. All of them were moments that she says she wouldn’t trade for anything.

Roxy came into my life when I needed her the most. I was going through some really hard times when she arrived. I wondered if I was doing the right thing by adopting a dog. Turns out that she was just what I needed to get out of my depression. She helped me look to the future, stay positive, and keep moving.

For my grandfather, she was his shadow. Following him around inside and outside of the house as he did chores was her favorite. She was a princess, and he spoiled her by always cooking her special dishes and feeding her table scraps even though I’ve scolded him many times for doing so.

For my mom, she was there to fill the void when her own dog passed. Roxy went for rides in her car almost daily and would follow her around during certain times of day trying to get her to take her for another ride.

She was the right dog at the right time for everyone.

The night before Roxy passed, Audra told me how she realized that dogs see time differently than we do. During their first year of life, it’s as if they’ve lived 15 human years. Using this chart At age 15, she was actually the equivalent of 83 in human years. While we saw her in our own sense of time as only 15 years old, she’s actually a senior and has seen life from a different perspective, perhaps an accelerated one. With the age came the ailments of getting old as well.

In 2002, I was single, living on my own and going through a bit of depression and trying to come out from it. Before I even searched for a dog, I did a lot of reading and research into owning a one. I asked myself if I was in the right state of mind to own a dog? Could I be responsible enough to have a living being depend on me for the duration of its life?

When I made up my mind to become a dog owner at the start of 2003, I knew it would be a lifetime commitment. After all, we choose the dog- it rarely happens the other way around.

The day I took Roxy home, I made her a promise to take care of her and to do what’s best for her for the rest of her life.

Yesterday, I kept that promise.

That’ll do sweet pup. That’ll do.

Roxy
February 14, 2003 - October 8, 2018