Passing of a Legend

**Warning, this discussion contains the death of a pet**

          It is with great sorrow that we share the news of Rocco passing away. Our hearts and our home will never be quite the same again. Our poor sweet Pearl has been very sad, searching for him to no avail. 

          Around lunchtime on March 25th, 2020 I found Rocco unresponsive on the carpet of our living room floor. We performed canine CPR unsuccessfully. Our sweet Pearl and the children were just a few feet away while all of this occurred. 

          As sad as I am about this. I am thankful that Stuart was home during this ordeal. As I stood violently crying in the kitchen, my children swiftly came to my side to comfort me. They were so calm and collected about the whole thing. Stevie kept saying "I am sorry your dog died." They both gave me tremendous hugs. 

         As a family we carried Rocco out under a tree in our pasture. Stuart dug the hole. We took turns shoveling the dirt back into the hole and talked about what it meant to die. Afterward we found some stones to paint and place in his resting place. 

         Stevie’s compassionate little heart just melted me. We went for a walk in the pasture. All the while she collected dozens of flowers to give to Rocco. When we got to his resting place, she placed them there. One fell out of place and she casually said “oh let me fix this.” As I stood up to walk away she said “give me a sec. I like “ending” days and I want to be sad for minute.” 😭 She told me how she wondered if Rocco would die and imagined he’d die when I died. (How sweetly innocent.) During our walk she told me that my crying didn’t make me a baby and that it was ok.

        Im thankful for the moments of peace in this little tragedy.  Thank you for the prayers, love, and light. 

~Rachel