My dog passed away shortly after the pandemic started. We had almost 16 years together and she was the best dog I could have asked for. She was so smart I ran out of things to teach her. When I got her I lived in a small apartment. We were on the corner so we had a patch of grass out front. She learned not to leave it without permission, and I could trust her even if kids were calling her (the neighborhood kids would come over to ask if she could come out and play). I taught her how to shut the door, and over time she learned to do it when she came in. There were stairs just inside the door, so when you opened the door the stairs were right in front of you. Sometimes she would shut the door but it would stick, so I taught her to go up the stairs, then run down to get some momentum, and then it would shut.

I could open the door and let her out by herself and she would come right back in when she was done. "Where's your manners" became the command for her to shut the door when she came back in, although she did it on her own most of the time. It was great when people saw it for the first time. Imagine a group of 20-somethings hanging out, stoned, watching a movie and my dog (Rocco) would come in, shut the door, see that it didn't shut all the way, run up the stairs and run back down to shut it. I couldn't tell you how many people lost their minds. It became like a party trick. Before she died she had gone mostly deaf, but we had spent so many years together and were so bonded that she didn't have to hear me to know what I was saying. As long as she was looking at me she would understand just by my body language. I miss her every day. I didn't deserve to have a dog that great but I'm very grateful for every day I had with my shelter mutt.