"Shake hands," my uncle ordered.

I crouched; then, I sat on the floor and our eyes met at the same level. Rocky bent his head to the left, offering me his paw. Rocky and I shook hands. Next, Rocky gently drew closer and licked my face. I was nine years old then, and this was love at first sight.

Rocky was a Red and White Irish Setter. Although his kind is not AKC recognized, the dog was truly aristocratic in behavior and Rocky and I bonded like twins who played together.

My uncle had adopted the dog from the local pound, and he and my aunt had driven several hundred miles to introduce Rocky to the family. As it has always been the custom in my family, when we need a pet we adopt it, but this was a few decades ago and adopting pets from the pound was frowned upon. Most people thought we were cheap. After all, in those days, pet stores were numerous and people flaunted their pedigreed pets.

Flaunting aside, things were quite different then; the local pounds were not as advanced in animal care as they are today. It could be possible a few pets could be carrying diseases. According to my uncle, Rocky's pen in the pound was unkempt, and as soon as my uncle brought the dog home, he gave him a bath, after which Rocky proved to be the only dog I knew who loved baths. In hindsight, this doesn't surprise me. After all, Rocky always exhibited his nobility.

My uncle and my aunt lived in another city several hundred miles away. Once a year, they came to see the family for about three weeks, and during my school vacations, my mother and I traveled to see them. Those visits helped Rocky and me to become inseparable, since I was an only child and he was an only pet.

In the beginning, when I talked to my uncle long distance on the phone, my uncle guessed that Rocky sensed it was me, because when I called, Rocky got excited and ran in circles around the room. Maybe the dog heard my name spoken, who knows! The thing is, Rocky didn't exhibit that behavior with other people when they called.

One day while I was on the phone, it occurred to my uncle to put the phone to the dog's ear. When he heard my voice, Rocky yelped into the phone. After that day, Rocky and I started talking long distance, and why not, since Rocky was truly intelligent and clever.

Teaching a trick to Rocky was a delight. He learned everything immediately, and sometimes, he even made up games. Rocky was lively and bouncy, but never ever disobedient. He sensed everything and he felt our joys and sorrows deeply.

One day after a funeral, when an elderly member of the family had passed away, we found Rocky at the entrance, sitting with his paws inside the deceased's slippers. Tears kept falling from the dog's eyes as several people witnessed that day.

Rocky was more than a dog. He was a person.