“They had never spent a night apart,” Beth Fisher, the dogs’ owner, told The Dodo. “Rocky and Spencer slept in the same bed, ate from the same bowl and always walked together when they went out.”
Sadly, however their joyous time together recently came to a close.
During a visit to the vet to pinpoint an ailment the blonde dog Rocky had developed, a large cancerous tumor was found to be growing inside of him. The tragic discovery, made too late for treatment, left only one option to end the poor pup’s suffering.
“Rocky had to get put down that day,” Fisher said. “It was hard to process Rocky’s sudden death, but we can’t imagine how hard it must be for Spencer to have lost his little brother.”
Spencer was heartbroken — and it showed.
“Since Rocky passed, Spencer has been getting up in the night to wander the house looking for his brother,” Fisher said. “And then he starts crying because he can’t find him.”
Rocky’s ashes were placed on a shelf above where he and his brother slept, to keep the pair close. But it was apparent that Spencer needed something more to help him to cope.
So, Fisher’s dad ordered this: a pillow for Spencer with Rocky’s smiling face printed on it.
Right away, the thoughtful gift put Spencer at ease.
The pillow honoring Rocky seems to have helped fill the void his passing had left in Spencer’s heart.
“Spencer has been cuddling into the pillow since it arrived, carrying it from the sofa to his own bed,” Fisher said. “He seems a lot more settled now he’s got something to cuddle into.”
The mourning dog sleeps alone no longer.
Nothing, of course, can ever bring Rocky back completely. Though as Spencer, who himself is getting on in age, drifts off to sleep, it’s reassuring to know his best friend is still by his side in spirit.
The way he always had been.
“I don’t think Spencer will ever get over Rocky’s passing, but I hope he’s able to learn to go on without him,” Fisher said, adding that the path forward is one he’ll never have to face alone.
“We’re hoping Spencer is able to take comfort in his new pillow, and take comfort from all the cuddles he’s getting from his family,”