My Tribute to Rory
December 14, 2000 – April 9, 2012
Hello
In April of 2001, as we sat in the NHS stands at one of Gina’s soccer games, we struck up a conversation with another soccer girl’s parent, Buffy Gatz, who bred and sold corgis. We told her we had just lost our corgi, Bruno. She told us about a male puppy that she had left from a litter that had been born in December and that she needed to find a home for him. She described him as being aggressive and that nobody had picked him. We told her we would like another corgi, but it was too soon for us after our recent loss of Bruno. Also, Bruce had been unemployed for six months, and we just couldn’t afford the price of a dog. I think she sensed that we really loved dogs, so she offered the puppy, a purebred corgi, to us at no cost. Soon thereafter, we went to the Gatz farm to meet our new puppy. My first sight of him was walking in the yard, and I noticed how different he looked with his black, white & tan coloring compared to Bruno’s sable and white coloring.
Bruce had heard that dog’s names should have “R’s” in them, so we named him RORY.
Rory was a very loving and social dog. He loved to be with people. For 11 years, he was our constant companion.
Memories of Rory
He loved to “help” with the laundry downstairs, always busying himself by licking the floor drain right next to the washing machine as I loaded it.
Vacuuming the floors was always an adventure with him barking loudly and nipping at the bottom of the machine. He must have thought he was protecting us from that loud machine!
He could detect the sound of a cheese wrapper being opened from rooms away. He always knew when meals were being prepared, and his usual spot was right under our feet in case anything “accidentally” dropped to the floor.
In December of 2004, Annie joined our family, and Rory got a sister and companion. Rory got to teach Annie all about going on walks and fetching a ball. Annie, being younger and faster, usually reached the ball first, but Rory had a way of getting her to drop it so that he could proudly bring it back to us. Theirs was a love-hate relationship, sometimes growling at each other, other times relying on each other for comfort, and most times being playful companions!
Rory loved going on walks. We knew that if we said the word “WALK”, we’d better be ready to go! Sometimes we’d spell “w-a-l-k” so he wouldn’t start hyperventilating and running all over the house. When the leash came off the hook, he was always ready to go. Rory always strained at the leash ahead of me as we walked, bidding me to walk faster… there was so much to see, smell and pee on! An extra-special walk was when we went to the Bethel College hiking trails, and Rory and Annie could be off-leash. They loved that freedom!
Rory liked to be near us at all times, and loved to sit on our feet, especially under the dining room table, or when we sat on the couch.
When I took a bath and closed the bathroom door, he always waited for me just outside the door when I emerged. And if the door didn’t get latched, he sat right beside the bathtub, first begging for me to scoop up some bath water for him to drink, and then settling down on top of the dirty clothes that were thrown on the floor.
Rory liked to beg at the table by sitting on his back haunches. Though, he quickly figured out that only his daddy would reward him for this behavior.
Rory’s favorite sleeping places were: 1) his green pillow in the living room, 2) his pillow next to my side of the bed, and 3) his crate in the bedroom. He looked so cute in his crate. As he got older, in the evenings sometimes we’d notice he wasn’t around, and realized that he had already put himself to bed.
Every evening when I got home from work, he and Annie would be waiting at the north gate to see me. The moment they saw me, they would run to the deck door where they knew I would soon let them in. I was greeted with much joy and hyperventilating each time, like it was the most exciting thing that could possibly happen in the history of the world!! And then the whole scene repeated itself when Bruce arrived home.
Rory loved to lick Bruce’s face and hair when he lay on the floor.
Rory enjoyed visits to Grandpa and Grandma’s houses. If we said “Let’s go to Grandpa’s house!” he would run to the front door, excitedly ready to go.
Rory didn’t like to go outside in the rain. Sometimes when it was time to go potty during a rainshower, I’d get the umbrella out and walk out into the yard with him. It was the only way to make him go. He was very afraid of thunderstorms, which caused him to shake all over, and stay very, very close to us. If it was bedtime during a storm, he’d go underneath my bedside table where I guess, he felt safer.
Goodbye
In March 2012, we noticed that Rory was slowing down, not running after the ball, and having difficulty going up the stairs. Eventually, he had to be carried up the steps, and his vet said he had some back problems. Medication helped a bit, but then his breathing became shallow and he stopped eating. After it was discovered that his lungs were full of cancer, we released Rory from his suffering. His last days were difficult, though he remained loving till the end.
Our “Rory Bear” (my pet name for him, an adaptation of “teddy bear”) brought much love and joy and fun to our lives. He has left a big hole in our hearts and we are sad.
Written by Nancy Funk, agreed completely to by Bruce Funk
April 10, 2012--
