Farewell to a friend

As many of you know, we have had the same beloved family pet, Rex (also known as Rex the Wonder Pup) since I was in Jr. High school. His exact age is among debate with the family with each person remembering "exactly" when we got Rex, but all the dates are different. Since this is my blog, we will go with my memory which brings Rex to the Blessitt clan when I was in the 7th grade (making him 19 years old in November). I got a much anticipated call from my mom on Friday last week that, like Grandpa, Rex finally made his peaceful transition home. This has been a rough year!

Let me start by saying that Rex was a cool dog. He was always a hair shy of wild, and was known to bite a person or two if they caught him off gaurd (sorry Melanie!!). He was also the sweetest dog you have ever seen. He was certainly a scrapper to say the least. I will miss him a lot. He really taught me a lot about loyalty and love. He was the first pet we ever had to last the night (note all other pets were of the swimming persuasion), and he would bark incessently if he was not close to the family. The neighbors loved him (NOT). He was always up to something.

I remember a few years ago, Dad called me at work and said, "You will never guess what your dog just did." My response was always, "Which dog?!?" as we had several with "attitude." Dad informed me that about 8:30am he opened the door in the garage and saw Rex trotting up with a fully wrapped Subway sandwich in his mouth (backstory - we lived across the street from the high school) and handed it to my dad like, "Open this please". I asked Dad what he did and he said he opened it and gave it to the dog. You had to admire the ingenuity it must have taken to convince some poor kid walking to school to part with such a coveted lunch. Funny dog.

Anyways, when we sold dad's house last year, Steve and I were unable to take him with us to the apartment, so my mom begrudgling allowed him to stay in her back yard. This turned out to be hog-heaven for Rex, as mom is easily trained to provided people-food, many treats, and a bed inside on a cold, wet, or pretty much any night with a pitiful face. In the past few years his health has really deteriated, so his passing, like Pawpaw's was a blessing. We will miss the old boy for sure.