Little Roger

Roger was the only puppy of Sophie's that looked similar to her. Most of them were brindle like their daddy Maddox, but Roger was special. He had the same little white mark on his neck as his momma.

We were thrilled and had high hopes for him. We considered keeping him since he did look so much like Sophie. Truth be told we considered keeping several of them. After all, they were so incredibly cute and smart and just everything you would want in a new dog.





Eventually we realized there was something wrong with Roger. He was having a really hard time taking a poop. He would squat and grunt but nothing happened. At first we thought we were just missing when it was coming out and didn't think much of it. But we quickly learned that he indeed had a real problem.

Joe took him to see Jason, our wonderful vet, to find out what was going on with him. Come to find out he was born without an anus. He was trying to go but there was no way for it to leave his little body. He had been carrying around all of his waste for weeks. Surgery was done to try to correct it. We gave him special food and eventually had to start giving him enemas on a daily basis. Whenever he would finally "go" we were so joyful. But it all started taking its toll on Roger. He started to slow down on his eating. You really couldn't blame the fellow. What goes in must come out and the ordeal he had to go through in order to have a bowel movement was just awful. The entire vet's office worked so closely with us. Every time we took him in they flocked around him loving on him and holding him. He really touched a special place in everyone that met him.





We had already decided that if there was any way he could have a quality life we would keep him and take care of him. But it wasn't to be. He continued to get weaker and weaker. Eventually we made the decision to have him put down. It was a sad morning, harder on Joe than anyone. He was the one that was with him all day, every day. Carted him back and forth to the vet's office. But it was time. He was ready.

He is buried under our flagpole in the front yard. We finally got his marker in place last weekend. Roger will never be forgotten by our family. He was only with us a few weeks but he will be in our hearts forever.