Our family had been wanting a dog for many years when we met Rex. He was part of a rescue program, and my husband and I went to meet him. Rex was so excited to be outside and enjoying attention with a ball to play fetch! I remember thinking how large he was- easily 100 pounds of lab, and a beautiful copper red color. I was scared of dogs generally, and this one would have knocked me down in one swoop, so I stood slightly behind my husband’s side as we watched. My husband tried to look stern, giving away none of his thoughts. However, by the ninth or tenth fetch transaction, with his tongue lolling out of his mouth at the exertion, Rex was determined to make the most of the moment or die trying: even my husband had to stifle a chuckle. Rex came up to me, looked at me with those soft brown eyes, and I just knew I could trust him to always be gentle. And that is Rex in a nutshell, incredibly good at reading people and the situation, and leading with his heart.

Through the years, my boys treated him like a fourth brother, and he did not object! Rex has been to the beach, to the mountains, in the UTV, in the lake and camping. Most of all, he made our house a home. As our boys would tell you, he always has our back: at every campfire, car ride or sporting event, when you looked to see where Rex was, he was always facing out. He always had our backs, even when he was the most scared one there.

One of Rex’s greatest tricks was being able to “go over the bank” whenever he had to go to the bathroom, so there was never a lot of doggy bags needed for his human-sized dumps! All the little dogs in the neighborhood loved him and used him like a jungle gym, while he happily stood and let them run around between his legs and over his back. He was incredibly tolerant and gentle, but could be fierce and fast when needed. Rex was consistently over-compliant, always tried to do the right thing, and got embarrassed if he missed the mark. Those soulful brown eyes were always full of love, respect and empathy.

In the last two years it’s been very difficult for Rex to get around, and we knew the time was coming for some hard choices. He didn’t deserve to suffer in pain after all the gifts he’d given each one of us. We would love to be the kind of person that Rex is: enough stubborn and sassy to be fun, but overwhelmingly selfless, compassionate and perceptive to a fault. We will never forget our valiant protector and soft snuggle buddy. Be at peace now, Rex, and keep chasing those chipmunks in heaven! We love you!