Roosevelt really has had a full life. He's been with us since I was in kindergarden. When my mom first brought him home, I dawdled in the snow on the way home from class. Anticipating my return home, my mom couldn't wait any longer to show me our new black lab - golden retriever. He was so small and could barely get up the stairs by himself as a puppy. I remember sitting on the basement steps the day we got him and came up with his name. My dad said "we'll see," but my mom thought it was good so the name stuck. When we moved to our big house in Iowa, we built him a dog house that looked exactly like our house! Roosevelt loved the open space of our big yard there, but often ran off to cause trouble. However, Roosevelt never caused harm to any human and never fought anything. I think he was a pacifist or something.

Seeing him tonight, I had a feeling that he knew what was happening to him. Maybe not, but he sure looked like he was staring straight at death. You could see it in his eyes. Like I said before, Roosevelt has had a long and eventful life full of memories in our family that could create a novel. He was a great friend and I'll never forget him.

Sleep well my friend.