Rocket

ROCKET: Ten years ago, my wife Dana and I traveled from our home in Bloomington, Indiana, to Crown Point, to meet a two-year-old borzoi boy living at Twin Elms Borzoi. This sweet, shy boy, named Terrell at the time, was curious about us and our two borzois (who came along to meet him). He had been one of twenty-one hounds living at Twin Elms, and we were ready to give him a smaller pack to call his own. Along with his uncertainty, there was a feisty spark in him, earning him the new name Rocket Raccoon.

From the start, Rocket was a mama's boy—it took him a few weeks to decide that Daddy was nice too! Before too long, he made himself at home, sharing the space with packmates Shayna and Strider. Two years later, tragedy visited the house, and Dana passed away. My dogs became my lifeline, holding back the despair that seemed to be a constant companion.

Time passed, and both Shayna and Strider succumbed to old age. But Rocket endured, eventually coming to love new packmates Buttons, Fagen, and NayNay. My best friend Nichole came to live with us, and she quickly became Mom to the pack, welcoming Rocket's long, loving "snuzzles," where he'd rub his face against your body, taking all the petting you wanted to give. He would give us the cutest, silliest smile, showing those big teeth. He smiled so big, it would pull his nose to the side.

Time turned our middle-aged boy into a senior dog far too quickly. He lost the vision in one eye, and in time, mobility became more and more difficult, and eventually he lost interest in eating, playing, and even the much-loved snuzzles. After much soul-searching, Nichole and I made the always-heartbreaking decision to ease his passing. Mercifully, a local retired veterinarian has a business of in-home euthanasia. He came and gently eased Rocket over the Bridge, as we stroked Rocket's fur and told him how much he is loved.

There's a borzoi-sized hole in house and heart now where Rocket once was, as I write this with eyes overflowing with tears. I can only hope and wish that he's somewhere beautiful now, where nothing hurts, and Mommy Dana and his other former packmates have welcomed him. He was my final borzoi, after thirty years of doing rescue, and he will live forever in my memory. Joel and Dana Pierson 2025