An ode to Roy

Okay, so I know I should be apologizing profusely for letting the blog slide but really and truly I was not able to keep up working two jobs. So with that out of the way I will continue my ode to Roy....

Most people I know when they want a new pet either go to the a shelter or a pet store to bring home the new member of the family. Roy on the other hand our very large mutt who is a mixture of husky, lab and who knows what else was somewhat inherited when we bought the property. No he was not a term or conditon to buy but when we first rolled up to look at our land he and another dog, Abbey decided we were partially responsible for them. So it began with our two new pets. Roy was the first to really make himself known. This was when we started to clear the land for the house. I sitting down on a log getting ready to serve lunch alfresco made the mistake of putting my hat down. Roy decided that this was a new toy and ran off with it. This was his habit as he likes to steal hats, recycling or whatever he can sink his teeth into. Abbey on the other hand was contented to be petted and looked much like the "The littlest Hobo" on CBC. She just came around every day for her attention and possibly a treat.

I soon discovered that Roy and Abbey were known by everyone on the road. Everyone stopped for them when driving past for a quick pat or until they decided to get out of the way. I'm sure they both thought that they owned the road too because they would literally make neighbours stop their vehicles sometimes only moving when honked at. Even then they did so at their own pace. They were always petted by neighbours and children on walks and really had full run of the road. Maybe because they were on our property first they felt as if they had more claim to us than anyone else. During excavation Roy made himself at home peering at the CAT digging a hole narrowly missing his demise many times. During construction Roy jumped on top of whatever we were building and sat and watched us or more often than not ran off with a wood scrap. If we managed to leave the door open during the insulating part of the the house he maded himself at home on whatever floor we were working on. He and Abbey slowly but surely became ours.

The favourite story is when we hired a seedy looking bunch to install our trusses. Roy did not see us and decided not to let them on the property until we were there. Roy had his teeth bared toward these poor carpenters until we arrived a few minutes later. They didn't like him much after that. Over the last couple of years Roy and Abbey spend just as much time at our home as their own. They actually belong to the neighbours across the street who feed them and house them at night. They sit in the sun or make beds of our leaves here each day. They come running when we drive down the street or take walks with us wherever we go forsaking any other they may be walking with. To this day if someone who Roy does not like comes unto the property without us he will protect. That's whey when we found out that our neighbours are selling their house and Roy and Abbey will be moving to Kingston sometime in the next few months we were somewhat taken aback. They were taking our pets with them. Our beloved and frankly free animals will no longer roam our property or our road. It will be a sad day to see them leave.