Rookie: Dog done dug dirt.

If there ever was a dog that was born to dig, it was Rookie.  She could excavate a three-foot-long trench in very little time.  Digging was also a remarkable cure for long nails; she could easily shorten her nails by half their length when engaged in a project.  If something got in her way while removing the substrate, she would employ her second tool.  Teeth.

Roots were a common problem while making her way through whatever surface material she was working through.  Those she could bite through easily.  It was the rocks that gave her trouble.  She would excavate around them, beneath them, and all the while attempt to attach her jaws to the offending obstruction.  Any rock that she strove to remove would inevitably be covered with saliva as she continued the incessant digging.

The problem with using her mouth to remove uncooperative overburden was that she often swallowed some of it.  She became quite ill after one stint and we had to take her to a vet.  The X-rays showed a copious amount of dark matter scattered throughout her digestive system.  She was given medication to help pass the foreign matter.  She wasn't allowed to dig after that.  

Rookie was doxie number 4 (7 if you include Kiesha's puppies).  She served as the replacement for Smudge after his untimely passing.  She was my son's dog and so he looked after her until he left home.  Then she became our dog.

I have mixed feelings about Rookie.  She didn't get along well with other dogs which meant that it was her against Kiesha and Marble.  Although Marble was blind, he wouldn't let Rookie hassle Kiesha and would tear into her if it became a problem.  After Marble and Kiesha passed we eventually got Murphy.

We put Rookie down last year.  Her spunky nature dissipated until she was very quiet and withdrawn.  It was apparent she was suffering from some internal distress.  When it got to the point that she was no longer comfortable, we made the decision to take her in.  In spite of my mixed feelings about her, it was very difficult and it took me a couple of days to recover from her loss.  

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