We spotted the ad in The Thrifty Nickel, a free newspaper, at the foot of the mountain, after coming down from a week of packing in Yosemite. July 16, 1998. Looking back at the old, yellowed newsprint from that edition, I can see that we could have gone for Box Turtles, or even even Silkie Chicks or Pot-belly pigs. But of course we got Rosie. She was a hunter by heritage. She was as sweet and warm as they come and surely made the school a sweeter, warmer place for over a decade. Not a bad life’s work.
Rosie was not moving around much in the recent weeks—she’d not been to school for most of the past two years. Then she started to get sick. A few days ago, the morning after graduation, we explained to Rosie that in dog heaven, when all dogs go, every last one, there were puppies everywhere, and cats that were pretty easy to get (although its strictly catch and release up there). Cheeseburgers on every corner, and greener grass than you’ve ever seen.
The amazing veterinarian, Kathy Boehm, explained that dogs are fine with passing away–they are not fearful in the slightest. Rosie just slowed down a whole lot. She was surely ready for the happy hunting grounds.
Dana wrote this lovely obituary:
Goodbye, Rosie
It is with deep sadness that we say goodbye to Rosie, The Grauer School’s resident dog. Rosie was more than a dog; she was a kind, compassionate soul that provided a great deal of love, kisses, comfort, and two listening ears to countless Grauer School students over the past fifteen years. Rosie is the inspiration behind our “Rosie Policy”—any student having a bad day in any class can invoke the “Rosie Policy” and could go take Rosie for a walk, no questions asked. Rosie will be missed tremendously. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Grauer family—including Stuart, Sally, and Audrey—as it’s never easy to say goodbye to a member of your family.
