Goodbye Rollo

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 12, 2026

It was a weekend of mixed emotions, a great one with the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl, and a heartbreaking one because my wonderful dog, Rollo, died.

Rollo was 14, which is a good long life for a golden retriever. Over those 14 years, his antics appeared several times in my column. In the beginning, he nearly drove us crazy. He just would not stay home. Eventually, he decided maybe it wasn’t so bad here after all, though he still maintained his regular route around the neighborhood. He never missed a garage sale or a family gathering, not ours, mind you, but the neighbors’. He even appeared in family photos …other families.

He had a few brushes with celebrity. He once met Smokey Bear at Moonlight Madness, and he portrayed Max, the Grinch’s dog, at a movie event, although he did get in trouble for licking some unattended cupcakes and he refused to wear the antler headpiece I had bought. He loved the Elks picnic, their annual ribs cook-off, and walked in the Twinkle Light Holiday Parade several times. When he got older, he rode through instead.

Rollo was just too snoopy for his own good. One time, when the PUD or county was doing work on the road by our house, a flagger actually sent me a photo of him standing there supervising the job.

He had several brushes with death over the years. The scariest was when he followed a neighbor all the way to Calawah Way and got hit by a car. Somehow, he pulled through, so I suppose the fact that he made it to 14 is something to be grateful for.

For a while, he even had his own column in the paper, but he eventually grew tired of the weekly deadlines. He had other things to do. He had other skills too; he once took his own photo when I left him and my camera in the car …I still am not sure how he did that.

Our car very rarely left our house without him along for the ride. In the last few months, though, he had been slowing down. He finally let me know he just couldn’t manage the car rides anymore, even after I got him a ramp.

His final days were spent enjoying peanut butter Kongs and bully sticks. He had a favorite spot in the backyard where he could watch the road and keep an eye on who was coming and going.

He fell asleep Friday night and never woke up.

Run free, Rollo. You were deeply loved, and you will never be forgotten.

Christi Baron, Editor