I had a dream about my Rocky last night

Today is my birthday, the first one without Rocky since I was 17. My great dane passed away before my 17th b-day, I was a mess. For my 17th b-day I got to go to the local pound and pick out a dog. As I was walking through the pound, I saw the eyes of my dane staring at me from one of the bottom cages. The eyes belonged to a year old rottweiler/golden retriever mix with a chopped off tail. It was like my dane was there saying, "Pick this guy!" So, that's how I got Rocky. He reeked of death, same as the whole pound. He was a favorite, so while other dogs got put down in a week, he was treated for a collapsed upper respratory for 2 months. I washed him 4 times that day and he still smelled.

Turned out Rocky was a trained dog fighter. He only liked my family, all kids and all puppies. We made a decision to work with him and did so for the next 4 years. After that, he was trustworthy. As he got older, his wisdom grew and everyone who met him knew that he was an exceptional dog. My bond with him was such that I was never able to surprise my parents coming home from college, he'd always "tell" them when I was 3 hrs away (it was a 6 hr drive).

He stayed with my parents for the rest of his life, but I saw him often. When he started bloating, I was relieved to have purchased health insurance for him. Three years later, a week after I found out I was pregnant, Rocky went downhill due to kidney failure and we had to say good bye. My parents and I were there with him and his passing was peaceful. He was 12.5 years old.

Since then, I knew that Rocky was watching over me and the baby. Aaron was born 3 weeks ago and last night I had a dream that Rocky was here. He was the picture of health and I was showing Aaron to him and thanking him for watching over him. Rocky was glowing with pride.

I miss my Rocky so much. But he's not gone, he's watching over us.