Remembering Rosie: A Farewell to My Sweet "Cat Dog"

It took me almost a month and a half to write this blog post because I wanted to be able to strike a balance between the sadness of losing my Little Rosie Girl and honoring the life we shared together.

There are some souls that were destined to be woven into the very fabric of our lives, and Rosie was definitely that for me. For 18 years, she was my shadow, my sweet baby girl, and my constant source of love and companionship. Losing her has left an empty space, but in that space, I find so many really wonderful memories that will keep her spirit alive until we meet again.

Rosie wasn’t just a dog; she was my “cat dog.” She had the agility of a cat, jumping from one piece of furniture to the next but her favorite thing was lazily curling up on the back of chairs or the couch and snoozing away on her self-proclaimed perch.

She had a little walk we fondly referred to as her “Meg Ryan walk,” that had an attitude all its own, swinging her little hips back and forth with a sassy confidence and swagger that was hers alone.

Shih Tsus have a reputation for being a bit stubborn and she could be that but not in an obstinate way. She and her brother Jack were the most compliant, laid back dogs you could ever hope to meet. When they were little, we said they were like the beach bums of Shih Tsu-dom. They were totally chill, lol.

That being said, we were visiting my Mom's house during vacation one year and a great big dog came up and started sniffing and kind of intimidating her little Shih Tsu named Poppy. Of the two, Poppy was always the most vocal and aggressive but she was the baby and to our utter shock, Rose jumped out of my arms, started barking, which she rarely did, and chased that big dog with his tail between his legs across an acre of Mom's land dragging her leash behind her. I was laughing so hard, I could barely get breath to chase after her. After that, she went back to her normal self and never did anything like that again. 

She loved music and was used to hearing me sing. Of course, as a result of that she had her own special songs. The one I sang to her the most and over the last few years especially was my modified version of "Ho Hey": “I belong to you, you belong to me, you’re my sweetheart.” Even when she wasn't well, her ears would lay back and she leaned her head in and listened like she knew exactly what it meant.

Rosie suffered some setbacks almost immediately after Howard passed away in 2020. She had always been so healthy and feisty and I started seeing that change.  It got to the point where I really wondered how much longer she would be with us. She was fourteen years old at the time and she started losing her hair, lost her eyesight, became lethargic and although she still wanted it, being held seemed to be an unpleasant experience for her. 

At that point, she didn't want me to leave her side and would get quite agitated if she didn't know where I was so I ended up setting up a mini office in the library inside the house. Throughout this time, she continued to eat and drink but you could tell she just didn't have a lot of energy. We searched for natural remedies to help her and essentially just fell into the routine of trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

Finally, one day my mom noticed that there was an urn with dried eucalyptus right next to her bed and something clicked.  She took it out of the house and disposed of it and we started watching her slowly but steadily begin to bounce back.

Pro Tip: Dogs and eucalyptus don't mix. It can be extremely poisonous for them.

So little Miss Rosie surprised us all once again! She was like a cat in more ways than one, lol. She definitely had 9 lives. 

She began to interact with us again, giving nose kisses and wanting to be held and even though she couldn't see she would pace the floor, run into things, back up, and keep going. We joked that she was trying to get her beach bod ready for Summer. I told her that when she turned 18 she was going to have to start looking for a job to earn her keep. 

She improved so much that instead of preparing for goodbye we started looking forward to celebrating her 18th birthday this last July and when she hit that milestone and seemed to be going strong, we found that we had stopped living in a state of emergency where she was concerned and started looking ahead and anticipating her future in terms of years instead of merely days.

But...it was not to be.

She started acting funny and quit eating and drinking on Saturday and by Monday morning she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  My sweet little girl was gone.

To say I miss her is an understatement but at the same time I am SO THANKFUL for the time I spent with her and the privilege of being her person. What a blessing she was to my life.

If you think about it, most pets serve no great purpose in the grand scheme of things from a practical perspective but they seem to have been created to serve a higher purpose as perfect conduits of God's pure, unadulterated and unconditional love. We have a lot to learn from them about that subject.

When she first started feeling poorly and could no longer navigate the route to ask to go outside, I would carry her through the house, garage, and shop to get to the backyard. I would whisper to her that I loved her, give her kisses, and a few times a week I would tell her, "I don't want you to go and we'll do this a long as you want to stay but when you decide you're ready and you get to heaven, go find Uncle Howie. He will take care you of you until I get there."

So, when I realized on Sunday night that this was not a false alarm and that she was really getting ready to leave I sang her her song, read the 23rd Psalm and told her not to be afraid because Jack, Grandma, and Uncle Howie would all be there waiting for her.

Rosie was my heart, my love dove, my sweet little girl. Saying goodbye has been harder than I could have imagined, but the love and light she brought to my life will remain. I miss you, my precious love, but I know you’re somewhere peaceful, with all the kisses and all the songs you could ever want. Mommy loves you, Boo—forever and always.

In honor of Rosie and all of the angels on earth cleverly disguised as our four-legged fur babies, I decided to launch a new section on our website called, "Rosie's Corner" where charts, kits, and patterns featuring pets will be available for 25% off everyday through the end of the year. 

We'll keep it on the front page for a few days but it will eventually have its own special category on our Main Menu where we will continue to add and expand that selection as time permits and new products become available. 

If you come across a chart that I've missed that you feel should be included and is not, please feel free to shoot me an email at shelly@crossed-hearts.com and we'll be sure and get it included so you can take advantage of the discount.

Thank you so much for allowing me to share Rosie with you today and I hope you enjoy her little corner of our shop.

Blessings,
Shelly