MANCHESTER, NH – Roxanne Elizabeth “Roxy” Robidoux, 15, died Nov. 6, 2018, after a lifetime of devotion to her humans.
She was born July 24, 2003, to an English cocker spaniel named Emma who appeared to have had a casual affair with a dachshund before she found her way to the Manchester Animal Shelter. Emma was adopted by a nice woman from Hooksett who discovered Emma was pregnant with eight puppies – including Roxy – all of which were adopted through the shelter. And while they were all adorable, we were fortunate to get the pick of the litter when Roxy communicated through her big brown eyes that she was meant to be our dog.
Roxy was instantly accepted by her dog brother, Jake, a corgi who had only been with us for two days. They became inseparable – mostly because Roxy followed him everywhere he went, including the time they snuck off for a Homeward Bound-style adventure and were quickly scooped up by a nice lady who drove them around the corner and back home, betrayed by their dog tags.
Roxy was left feeling a little lost when Jake departed the planet prematurely six years later, succumbing to a congenital heart defect. But through that loss, Roxy was elevated to leader of the pack. On the down side, her pack was a disappointing pair of rag-tag mother-daughter cats, Sunday and Tiny, neither of which had any intention of following her.
But that didn’t really matter much to Roxy, in that she was thrilled to have the full attention of her humans without Jake around to monopolize them with his frequent demands for cheese, ice cubes and belly rubs.
Over her 15-plus years Roxy enjoyed various hobbies, including a short stint as a competitive pool diver and surfer – she was compelled to run after anyone who jumped in the family pool first, as well as winter sports – following her dad outside to shovel was pure joy for her. She loved standing in the snow, sitting in the snow, rolling in the snow and eating the snow.
Not a big fan of dog parks, Roxy was once accused by a stranger of being in need of more socialization – this, after several dogs tried to sniff her butt and she relayed to me that she needed to be held. Roxy, when given a choice, would take a hard pass on having her butt sniffed in public, or anywhere for that matter. She preferred the finer human things of life – a spot on the couch with a pillow for her head, some eggs and toast leftovers from her dad’s breakfast plate, and going bye-bye in the car with a window view, whenever possible.
Although she was never one to fetch, while her hearing was still good she could squeak the life out of the best squeaky toys money could buy.
She spent her later years as a free-range pooch, patrolling her property with purpose despite her fading vision, always ready to bark away any one, human or otherwise, who dared walk or jog within range, including chipmunks and squirrels. (Also including harmless senior citizens, young children and neighbors.) In fact, only the mailman was allowed to enter her space without repercussion, because he always left her a few treats in the mailbox.
When she found herself leader of a new cat pack in 2016, she made sure to let her new sisters, Bella and Luna, know that they had to wait their turn at the community water dish, and that she had first dibs on any scraps of food that made it to the floor, whether on purpose or accidentally. To their credit, the cats were a devoted pack and followed Roxy everywhere, except outside, as they are indoor cats. But they lived for the chance to get close to her, which only happened while Roxy slept. They became her sentinels, alerting the family whenever Roxy was ready to come back inside after daily patrol duty.
Roxy was a beautiful dog, loyal and steadfast, who has left all of us with a Roxy-shaped hole in our hearts that will never completely heal. Anyone who’s ever loved a dog knows it’s the truth.
She is survived by her mom and dad, Carol and Jim Robidoux, her human brothers Neil and Bill, and human sisters, Julie and Aimee, and her cat pack, Bella and Luna. She may or may not be missed by her neighbor dogs, Dexter and Lola, because Roxy never let down her guard, even for them.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Manchester Animal Shelter, without which we would not have known the joy of spending the past 15 years with the best dog in the world.
