Natalie Heaman

Remembering Roxxy

A singe panel comic showing a white puppy with brown spots smiling at the camera. The text says "My parents surprised Sarah and I with Roxxy in 2006. I remember disbelief and asking "We're keeping her?'"
A singe panel comic showing a view of a chair from under a table. You can see a persons legs and a dog squished into the chair next to the person. The text reads "For years there was an armchair at my desk and Roxxy would squish into it with me while I saw drawing or doing homework. Hours and hours like that."
A singe panel comic showing the same white dog with brown spots, Roxxy, walking out an open door. She looks behind her and has a sneaky expression. The text reads "When I worked at the pet store, Roxxy would sometimes join me as a shop dog. After 10 mins she always got bored and would try to sneak out with customers."
A singe panel comic showing a drawing of a bag of subcutaneous fluids and needles. The caption reads "When the kidney disease was new, my mom tried to give Roxxy subcutaneous fluids at home to reduce vet visits. But Roxxy would squirm and we just couldn't do it. Those were really hard days."
A singe panel comic showing a woman with her head in her hands, in front of a laptop. The clock on the laptop says it's 4pm. The caption reads "The appointment was looming. It was the worst kind of count down."
A singe panel comic showing the same white dog with brown spots, Roxxy, sitting on a red blanket on a lawn. Hand pet her and speech bubbles with hearts are around her. The caption reads "She lay in the sunshine on a blanket on the lawn. The sedative was kicking in and she was drifting off. We were petting her and telling Roxxy she's a good girl. The best."
A singe panel comic showing a veterinarian wearing a face mask. Speech bubbles come from her saying "You fought hard for her and she fought hard for you." and "She had a good last summer." The caption underneath says "The vet also teared up and said many kind and supportive things. Roxxy has been a regular patient in her last 5-6 months."
A singe panel comic showing Roxxy on a blanket on the grass. Her head is down and her eyes are closed. Part of the blanket is wrapped over her. The caption reads "It felt so wrong to leave without her. When else would you drive somewhere with your dog and then drive home without?"

Original caption from when I shared this on Instagram in late September 2022, a few weeks after my dog Roxxy passed:

In the spirit of practicing something called processing feelings (instead of my usual burying them under tasks and general busyness) I made some journal/diary comics reflecting on Roxxy’s life and death.

Roxxy, April 1 2006 — September 7 2022

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