Month: March 2018

When Roscoe was about six months old, my roommate Torrey took him along on a visit to a friend’s house.  I figured since the friend had a dog, it would be a good part of socialization.  While that was probably a good conclusion, Roscoe seemed to avoid large bodies of water after that day.  I think I have a good idea why.  I asked my friend Torrey to tell me the story about the time six-month-old Roscoe tried walking on water.  Here is his response:

OMG.  That was so damn funny.  🙂

It’s not like the pool had a cover on it.  You know, one of those green covers that could look like grass.  No.  Just a bright blue pool.

He was out back with Nitro (a young, spunky Boston terrier) and we were just hanging out.  Roscoe was actin’ a fool, running around, spinning like crazy puppies do.  Running back from one end of the place to the other.  Carrie and I call it Super-Scooting when Boss does it.

Nitro was on the other side of the pool when, out of nowhere, like he was ‘in-the-zone,’ Roscoe bee-lined it towards Nitro.  Right across the surface of the pool.  He got a few steps in.  Then he sank.  Like Wilie-E.-Coyote chasing Road Runner.

He came up from the bottom with the craziest look in his eyes.  Freaking priceless.  Like that pic you have of him in the backyard when he got spooked.  So freaking funny.

Roscoe Coltrane

In the first week of April 2007, I let my 110 pound American Pit Bull Terrier, Ms. Renee Jewel Coco, into the backyard of my Austin, Texas home to do her morning business.  I put a load of laundry in, then went to the door to let Ms. Coco back in.  …  but she wasn’t there.

I went out into the backyard, looked on the side of the house, and saw something that made my heart stop:  An open gate.

I quickly ran back inside and grabbed my car keys to go drive the neighborhood looking for her; and when I opened the front door, I saw her lounging in the front lawn in the morning sun.

I called 311 and asked if there was any municipal activity in my neighborhood.  You know, like meter readers or something.  “Yes.  A contractor is in your area cutting trees back from overhead power lines,” the operator replied.  I explained that this is the third time my gate has been left open in six months, and I wanted to speak with a crew supervisor(and yes, after this experience, I began locking the gate).

Ten minutes later, a supervisor was at my door.  I explained that I wasn’t happy about his workers leaving my gate open.  Ms. Coco is not territorial, nor had I ever witnessed aggression towards other people or animals.  However, I explained, if I ended up in a court room explaining why my dog might have injured somebody or their pet, I was going to be followed by someone explaining why they left the gate open.  He was extremely empathetic, explaining that he has a large dog, too; that it would scare him if his dog was roaming the neighborhood.  His was a large American Bulldog.

His boy had just sired a litter of seven pups, now about six weeks old.

I told him I’d been thinking about getting 9-year-old Ms. Coco a dog friend, as my schedule as a paramedic meant some long stretches away from home, with roommates coming and going.  He said he had one pup left from the litter, a boy, and would bring him by if I wanted to see how they might get along.

Somehow, I knew they would get along.  I also knew that if the supervisor brought a puppy to the house, I would end up with two dogs.

I’ll end by saying that the pup ended up having been born on my birthday and went without a name for about a week after that gate was left open.  He was just about potty-trained when we took him in, but proved to pee when excited.  A friend suggested I name him Pico.  The pup was also the goofiest thing I’d ever encountered.  Reminded me of the Sheriff from Dukes of Hazard, “Rosco P. Coltrane”.

He had earned himself a name.  I would spell out the “P,” in his middle name.  Those who have met him in person all know why his middle name is spelled out.  He has left his mark on quite a few socks, sneakers, and dress shoes of those who bend to greet him.

This little Roscoe Pee Coltrane started to wiggle his way into my life, and ‘saturate’ the lives many of those I know.