Rolly and I met in a St. Paul pet store over 10 years ago...
I had moved to the Twin Cities after a very hard and low time in my life..a time when I should not have been alive and had finally started on the uphill and was starting new. Aunt Sheila and I had decided to stop at the Sunray Pet Store in St. Paul on a Saturday to visit the pets. In one of the kennels there were Fox-i-Poo pups, 6 of them. In the corner was Rolly, not interacting with the other pups. She scrawny, had a wirey black mohawk and straight black hair. Sheila and I eached picked a pup, of course, I picked the one in the corner. She did not want to come out and the pet store worker had to work to get her out. When I finally held her, she just nestled in my arms and fell asleep. I will never forget that because she tried to stay asleep when we were leaving and I had to give her back. I was torn because I was just trying get on my feet and going through school and not sure where I would live, knew I was ready for "parenthood". The middle of the next week, I stopped by that pet store on my noon break, and help that pup again. The pet store worker told me that she would be sent to the pound in two weeks if not sold, there was only 3 pups left. That night I went home and told Sheila and was very upset, because I would have no idea what pound or what would happen. That Saturday after we went to the gym, Sheila decided we would swing by the pet store and just see if she was there. There were two pups left..and one was Rolly. As I was holding Rolly, Sheila came up and told me she had bought her for me and verbatim said, "You now need to be responsible for someone else, you'll grow up with her".
We took her home that night, and that pup went between me and the TV all night. She would just sit at the TV looking up and only come back to me when I had food. Trying to decide on a name at that time....we had Oreo, Blacky...but after a couple nights of the TV/food watching I decided on Rolly. Like the 101 dalmation puppy, Rolly. She acted just like that pup, the one that turns around to the mama dalmation and says, "Mama, I'm hungry". From then on she was Rolly Mae Johnson.
Rolly filled our lives with entertainment...doing her dances, shakes, tricks, and obeying commands, except for Derrick :). She also like pulling attitude, which we joke comes from her owner...I can't tell you how many times Derrick would yell for her not to be under a bed, and she would go right under the one he was talking about. It became a humor war around our house. Provided comfort...through very trying times in the past 10 years...would endlessly give her kisses and snuggle into a ball around you. Welcoming new siblings into the house...sleeping next to their cribs was a hallmark for Rolly, unless they were screaming which meant a trip under the bed to hide. And, just providing a lot of love to whomever she came in contact with, which makes her death that much harder. WE miss her and hope that she is running and running, getting lots of treats, and will keep us safe.
As Kole said yesterday after we held Rolly, said our good-byes, and Derrick took her back into the garage..."God has taken her now and she's gonna live with him".