For years, there was a familiar presence in the front window of the ELYSIAN office. Large, white, wonderfully shaggy and usually accompanied by a favorite toy, ROC watched the world move along Main Street from a place that became unmistakably his.
To those of us who knew him, he was family. To countless others, he was simply the beloved big white dog in the window.
ROC was born on February 5, 2015, and entered our lives at a moment when another cherished chapter had just ended. ELYSIAN’s longtime office manager, Becky Kerr, had recently lost her beloved poodle, JJ, short for Jessie James, and was not looking for another dog.
As life often has it, ROC found his way to her anyway.
ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd was walking Kansas, the Labradoodle she had rescued, when a gentleman approached her and asked whether she knew anyone who might be interested in a Goldendoodle. Soon, Karen and Becky went to meet one of the puppies. Before long, eight-week-old ROC was theirs.
The arrangement was quintessentially them: Karen paid half of ROC’s adoption fee, and Becky paid the other half. What began as a shared decision to bring a puppy into their lives became something immeasurably greater.
Life with ROC quickly brought adventure. Just three months later, Becky was walking him down Main Street in heels when she fell and broke her wrist. It was an early indication that life with this exuberant, shaggy creature would rarely be dull.
ROC began coming to the office with Becky every day. At first, he had a small crate. As he grew, so did the crate. Then Becky left for the beach.
When she returned, everything had changed.
A space had been created for ROC in the front window of the ELYSIAN office, complete with his bed, bowls and, naturally, his toys. The arrangement was perfect. ROC had found his post.
From there, a local legend was born.
He became, unofficially but undeniably, a Main Street mascot. When someone walked past the window, ROC would proudly present a toy. People waved to him through the glass. Others came inside simply to pet him and say hello. Regulars knew him. Neighbors knew him. People whose names we never learned knew him.
They might not have known exactly who ROC belonged to, but they certainly knew ROC.
There was something wonderfully pure about the way he connected with people. He required no introduction and expected nothing complicated in return. A wave, a scratch behind the ears, a moment of attention, and perhaps an appropriate amount of admiration for whichever toy he had selected that day were enough.
For more than 11 years, ROC filled our lives with those moments. His presence at ELYSIAN became woven into the rhythm of our days and the life of Main Street.
Today, the front window feels different.
But perhaps that is what happens when someone, even someone with four paws and a shaggy white coat, truly belongs somewhere. They leave an absence only because their presence mattered so much.
ROC was more than the dog in the window. He was a companion, a character, a neighborhood celebrity and a beloved member of the ELYSIAN family.
And although the window is quiet now, for everyone who knew him, it will never be quite the same. Whenever they pass by, they will remember the big white, shaggy dog who watched over Main Street, toy in his mouth, and made everyone who knew him smile.