Rita

Rita came to me on Halloween of 2000. She was a scared little puppy, hungry and full of fleas. My roommate, Jessi, wanted to name her Little Spooker.  We didn't have any dog food for her so we gave her some Doritos and she gobbled them up. We thought Dorita would be a good name, and then the name "Rita" popped into my head and became the perfect choice. Rita kept me up most of the first night that we had her, crying and carrying on.  The next day, I gave her a flea treatment and she moved into my room. She became my constant companion and went everywhere with me. Even while I went to class in the evenings for the teacher ed program, she would stay with my sister in the dorms. She was fiercely protective of me and would bark or growl at strangers if they got too close to us. Upon meeting Phil, he was the first stranger she approved of and didn't bark at. She soon earned the nick name "Queen of the World" for her strong and mighty presence and fierce attitude. We often joked that the back step was her throne.

Rita was my friend through thick and thin and greeted me with complete joy each and everyday. She couldn't wait for the boys to go to bed at night so she could hop up and snuggle with me in the couch. She loved to burrow in our blankets and curl up right against my stomach with a little sigh as she finally found the right position. 

The last few years with Rita have been hard. Her health started to decline. Her eyes slowly clouded over with cataracts and her hearing left her. She became mostly silent and stopped her howling greetings when I would come home.  She would only bark when her majesty wanted to be let in or out. Her most difficult ailment was congestive heart failure. She became more and more lethargic. 

On August 8, 2015, my Rita Baby passed away and I said goodbye to one of my best friends. I miss her everyday but I am so thankful of the years that we spent together. 

Rita

"Founding Day" October 31, 2000 - August 8, 2015