In memory of Roxanne. All dogs go to heaven.

 
Back in 1999 or so, I decided to get my first dog. I had been jogging in the neighborhood and had been followed a couple of times. I decided I needed a scary dog.
 
My good friend, Susan, took me to German Shepherd rescue to look at 'scary' dogs. I looked at several dogs and Susan helped me pick a 2-year old, hyper as heck, female. Her name was something weird and German. Susan told me to rename her. My kids and I were driving home trying to think of good German names and we just couldn't find anything we liked. While driving, the Sting song Roxanne came on and our new dog was named Roxanne. As a side note I have a cat named Billie Jean who was born the same month Michael Jackson died and I had a bird named Lucy for Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Roxanne was the sweetest dog ever. She liked all dogs and cats and people....rabbits not so much.
 

Well Roxanne had been turned back into the shelter twice and she had some mental deviations. Hahaha. She would NOT go outside. I  had to drag her out. I'm guessing someone tied her up and must have left her out. She wouldn't even go outside if I left the door open and I was outside.

So the first day back to work after getting my new dog, I left her in my master bathroom with food, water, toys and a big window with a nice view of the neighborhood. I'm at work and my coworkers start telling me that dogs get anxious and that I may have no baseboards left at my house. Now, I'm thinking my dog has eaten my bathroom. I go home and the bathroom is intact and my dog is overjoyed to see me.

I quickly found out how to make my dog happy. I put in a dog door. From that time on, she was almost normal and would go outside on her own.
 
We had barely gotten to know Roxanne and I see Hayley who was about 5 is laying on top of my dog brushing her teeth and Roxanne is just letting her do it.

A couple of things I learned about dogs:

• NEVER feed them brisket. I had diarrhea all over my carpet. She looked like she felt so bad about that. 
• Never leave a frozen package of meat on the counter. I went to check the mail and returned to find a piece of styrofoam on the carpet.
• Hire a pet sitter. The few times she went to the kennel, she would come home and surprise me with poo on my floor....sometimes the same day and sometimes she'd make me proud and surprise me a few days later.

Roxanne used to stand outside in the rain alot, so we bought  her a yellow rain slicker that we would make her wear. I remember my kids also putting my Cowboys sweatshirt on her, but then she pooed and it landed in my sweatshirt. Thanks kids.

I cannot find the photos of her wearing bunny ears, the Cowboys sweat shirt, and the rain slicker.

So when I moved to a new house back in 2007 she escaped out the front door. Well about 2 hours later a man brings her to my house. He also had a two-story red brick house and she had been laying on his front porch.

She was the sweetest dog ever. She was so sweet that someone robbed me of my laptops by coming in through my dog door while she was at home.

Roxanne gave us many happy years and I'm sure her hips are working and she is running all over heaven.