paws in the family

I've always loved dogs. During the worst time of my life almost 15 years ago, I found myself walking into a pet shop one hot and sunny day and bought myself a puppy. It was love at first sight; not just for me but for my family too. We decided to keep the name the pet shop had given him and Rocky he was. He became family and I can't remember the number of times that I've shook my head and wondered if this boy even realized that he was different from the rest of us. I smile to myself when I think of it now. He was 6 months old when I brought him home. Rocky was super intelligent. Without any training at all, he learnt how to carry his own towel ready for his bath and to carry out his pillow from the kitchen in the morning. I must admit that this bugger had exceptional taste during his teething days. His choice being my Italian leather shoes, the legs of an antique chair and nothing else. He bit and he chewed and nothing could stop him. It was always only the best for our boy. My mom once carried a huge rattan basket back on a flight from Singapore for her Rocky. My brother was working with Singapore Airlines at that time and even when we never got anything, Rocky was sure to have something ~ a placemat for his bowl, a new collar, a roll of salami, supplements and whatever else under the bright blue sky. My grandma used to spoil him rotten. When we were at work, these 2 would settle into a routine of "one-for-you-one-for-me" and it was all about potato chips ! Caught them at it one day. It's no wonder how often I had to keep replenishing those bags of potato chips. Who wouldn't love a face like that !