"I'm not his daddy, you're not his mommy - & he's not sleeping in our bed."

[Rorey]

16. He's beautiful

Quite a few years ago my daughter asked if we'd care for her Rottweiler puppy for a little while because she was in a living situation that wasn't good. My husband said no repeatedly. We already had another dog, and our yard (at the time) was not big enough for big dogs. I already knew that the dog had some health issues. I had helped my daughter get him through Parvo, and then we found out he had bad hips.

So she brought him over after my husband went to bed. He didn't discover that he was there until he got home from work the next day. I told him that the dog had already been there a full day, so it was too late to not accept him. Our other dog was absolutely thrilled, and "the boys" acted like they had shared the same womb.

Still, I knew right away I wasn't going to like the Rottie. Unlike our Aussie mix, Taney had wiry fur and I wasn't a fan. Also, there was the factor of his bad hips. I didn't figure we'd have him long, so I made it a point to not get attached to him.

I have no idea what the hell happened, but he turned into MY dog. I got him his own twin size bed that I put right up against my side of our bed. When he got worried or just lonely, he'd crawl from his own bed onto ours so we could snuggle better. He was with me every moment that he possibly could be. He was completely devoted to me and did anything I asked him to do.

We had Taney until he was almost 10, and then the hip issue became unmanageable. I held him (all 125 pounds) while he was getting euthanized. I was inconsolable for a long time. That was over 13 years ago. Still sad. Best dog ever.