I didn’t really focus on it until recently, but it is clear that Rocky cannot see well, if at all. I paid attention to this more closely today when I came bye to bring him an apple. When the car pulls up, he moves away quickly, into a stall in the rear of the standing barn. If I call out to him, he puts his head out and listens, and then darts back inside. It takes four or five attempts before he comes out and slowly approaches the sound of my voice.

I hold an apple out and he walked right into my hand, startling himself. I had to pull it away to avoid poking him in the eye. When I dropped the apple, he stuck out his nose to smell it, and then he found it and chewed on it. The family is discussing where Rocky will go, and there are a number of people willing to take him in. He has food, water and shelter. I didn’t realize that Rocky can barely see. I put up more photos of him on Facebook. He is a touching figure to me, a story of devotion and of the nature of life, and the ways in which animals mark the passages of our lives. I’ll stay in touch with the family and keep visiting him.