Tributes

May 2009 - November 2022

Rocket

Light a Candle for Rocket

About Rocket

Irish Sport

San Antonio, TX

Sausages, ideally stolen

Digging holes with no purpose

Sit, paw, 'gently', and 'is that your ball?' which made him lose his mind every single time.

Any tricks or words they knew?

-----

The vacuum cleaner and men in high-visibility jackets. He never explained why.

Was there anything they really disliked?

-----

Walk at seven, nap in the sunny patch by the radiator, second breakfast he was never officially given, evening patrol of the garden.

Did you have a little ritual together?

-----

He would fetch a shoe, any shoe, and present it like a gift, tail going so hard his back end swung.

How did they greet you when you came home?

-----

The bottom stair, so he could see both the front door and the kitchen at once.

Where did they love to sleep or curl up?

-----

He carried a single sock everywhere for the first three years of his life. Not a pair, always the same left sock.

What were their funny habits or quirks?

-----

He turned up at the back door during a storm, soaking wet and furious about it. We put up posters for a month. Nobody came.

How they came into your life?

You were the best thing about coming home. Thank you for waiting at the door for thirteen years.

A message you'd like to say to them

-----

Take him back to the river at Bitton and let him stand in the shallows for as long as he wanted.

If they were here right now, what would you do?

-----

The last warm afternoon in October. He lay in the garden with his nose in the air and fell asleep in the sun.

What was your last happy moment together?

-----

The smell of wet grass after rain, and the sound of a tennis ball bouncing on a hard floor.

What reminds you of them? (song, place, object...)

-----

He once stole an entire quiche off the counter at a garden party and ate it under the table while forty people looked for it.

The funniest thing they ever did?

-----

The morning after my mother's funeral, he refused to leave the bedroom door. He lay across the threshold all day.

A memory you'll never forget?

A biscuit at ten o'clock every night, split in half, one half for him and one for me. He never accepted a whole one.

Did you have a little ritual together?

-----

Every summer in Pembrokeshire. He swam in the sea until his legs shook and slept in the car all the way home.

What adventures or trips did you share?

-----

He would come and rest his chin on my knee and just breathe, very slowly, until I breathed slowly too.

How did they comfort you on a hard day?

-----

Next door's elderly cat, Winnie. She bullied him for eleven years and he adored her for it.

Did they have a best friend, animal or human?

-----

My dad, without question. He only had to say Barley's name in a certain tone and the dog melted.

Who was their favourite person?

A biscuit at ten o'clock every night, split in half, one half for him and one for me. He never accepted a whole one.

Did you have a little ritual together?

-----

Every summer in Pembrokeshire. He swam in the sea until his legs shook and slept in the car all the way home.

What adventures or trips did you share?

-----

He would come and rest his chin on my knee and just breathe, very slowly, until I breathed slowly too.

How did they comfort you on a hard day?

-----

Next door's elderly cat, Winnie. She bullied him for eleven years and he adored her for it.

Did they have a best friend, animal or human?

-----

My dad, without question. He only had to say Barley's name in a certain tone and the dog melted.

Who was their favourite person?

Sit, paw, 'gently', and 'is that your ball?' which made him lose his mind every single time.

Any tricks or words they knew?

-----

The vacuum cleaner and men in high-visibility jackets. He never explained why.

Was there anything they really disliked?

-----

Walk at seven, nap in the sunny patch by the radiator, second breakfast he was never officially given, evening patrol of the garden.

Did they have a daily routine?

-----

He would fetch a shoe, any shoe, and present it like a gift, tail going so hard his back end swung.

How did they greet you when you came home?

-----

The bottom stair, so he could see both the front door and the kitchen at once.

Where did they love to sleep or curl up?

-----

He carried a single sock everywhere for the first three years of his life. Not a pair, always the same left sock.

What were their funny habits or quirks?

-----

He turned up at the back door during a storm, soaking wet and furious about it. We put up posters for a month. Nobody came.

How they came into your life?

You were the best thing about coming home. Thank you for waiting at the door for thirteen years.

A message you'd like to say to them

-----

Take him back to the river at Bitton and let him stand in the shallows for as long as he wanted.

If they were here right now, what would you do?

-----

The last warm afternoon in October. He lay in the garden with his nose in the air and fell asleep in the sun.

What was your last happy moment together?

-----

The smell of wet grass after rain, and the sound of a tennis ball bouncing on a hard floor.

What reminds you of them? (song, place, object...)

-----

He once stole an entire quiche off the counter at a garden party and ate it under the table while forty people looked for it.

The funniest thing they ever did?

-----

The morning after my mother's funeral, he refused to leave the bedroom door. He lay across the threshold all day.

A memory you'll never forget?

Sunny

Patient

Gentle

About Nora

Sit, paw, 'gently', and 'is that your ball?' which made him lose his mind every single time.

Any tricks or words they knew?

-----

The vacuum cleaner and men in high-visibility jackets. He never explained why.

Was there anything they really disliked?

-----

Walk at seven, nap in the sunny patch by the radiator, second breakfast he was never officially given, evening patrol of the garden.

Did they have a daily routine?

-----

He would fetch a shoe, any shoe, and present it like a gift, tail going so hard his back end swung.

How did they greet you when you came home?

-----

The bottom stair, so he could see both the front door and the kitchen at once.

Where did they love to sleep or curl up?

-----

He carried a single sock everywhere for the first three years of his life. Not a pair, always the same left sock.

What were their funny habits or quirks?

-----

He turned up at the back door during a storm, soaking wet and furious about it. We put up posters for a month. Nobody came.

How they came into your life?

You were the best thing about coming home. Thank you for waiting at the door for thirteen years.

A message you'd like to say to them

-----

Take him back to the river at Bitton and let him stand in the shallows for as long as he wanted.

If they were here right now, what would you do?

-----

The last warm afternoon in October. He lay in the garden with his nose in the air and fell asleep in the sun.

What was your last happy moment together?

-----

The smell of wet grass after rain, and the sound of a tennis ball bouncing on a hard floor.

What reminds you of them? (song, place, object...)

-----

He once stole an entire quiche off the counter at a garden party and ate it under the table while forty people looked for it.

The funniest thing they ever did?

-----

The morning after my mother's funeral, he refused to leave the bedroom door. He lay across the threshold all day.

A memory you'll never forget?

A biscuit at ten o'clock every night, split in half, one half for him and one for me. He never accepted a whole one.

Did you have a little ritual together?

-----

Every summer in Pembrokeshire. He swam in the sea until his legs shook and slept in the car all the way home.

What adventures or trips did you share?

-----

The bottom stair, so he could see both the front door and the kitchen at once.

How did they comfort you on a hard day?

-----

Next door's elderly cat, Winnie. She bullied him for eleven years and he adored her for it.

Did they have a best friend, animal or human?

-----

My dad, without question. He only had to say Barley's name in a certain tone and the dog melted.

Who was their favourite person?