In Mourning for my Heart Dog Lucy

Lucy B 

June 13, 1997 - February 21, 2012

My heart has flown right out of my chest and broken into a million pieces.

Remembering an Old Friend: Guest Blog Post

Today we have a Talking Dogs guest post from the dog daddy at our house, known to some of you as the Chief Medical Examiner and my husband, Gary.

Remembering an old friend...

Having recently lost Tucker, my old friend of 14 years, I have been thinking a lot about him. 

A few weeks ago, while stringing lights on the Christmas tree, I was remembering one of the last walks we took together.   

We have a fenced back yard of about two acres which the dogs have access to.  However they all love to go for a walk outside of the yard with their daddy.

Nobody loved the walks more than Tucker. The last few years of his life he was suffering with arthritis and got to the point where he had trouble standing up, but once he was on his feet he was always ready to go for a walk.   

I regret terribly that we didn’t take more walks. Once we were out the front door Tucker was on the move. Slow and steady but moving ahead. Regardless of how long the walk lasted or how tired he was, he never once asked to go back to the house. When I would tire out and start back, he would always want to go for more.   

On one of those last walks together Tucker scared up a rabbit. I saw it lying in the grass long before Tucker did so I steered him toward it.

Now, to help you get the image, it helps to visualize a 98 year old man who needs a walker to get around. Although Tucker didn’t have a walker (he could have used one) he walked very slow and deliberate as he made sure each step was secure. 

When Tucker got about 6 feet from the rabbit it bolted and ran. Tucker came alive and gave chase. Well at least until he got to the end of the leash and I stopped him. He watched as the rabbit hopped off and into the high grass and was gone.   

In hindsight I wish I would have let him go. One last good chase.  It’s not as if he would have caught the rabbit or even got close but he would have loved to try, and I know he would not have gone too far in his condition.

But it’s too late now and it makes me sad that my basic instinct to keep control of him deprived him of that good chase. I should add that we were about in the middle of our 46 acres so he would have had plenty of room to safely chase the rabbit. 

You see, for years one of Tuckers jobs around here was to keep the yard clear of all invading critters, rabbits, armadillos, squirrels.  He had retired from that job and had turned it over to the young and swift.

But when Tucker saw that rabbit he was young again.  Age nor ability was not a thought.

I wish I had let him go.

Dog Song Saturday: In the Arms of the Angels by Sarah McLachlan

It's Saturday so time for a dog song from Talking Dogs.  Today's song is a very special one to all of us at For Love of a Dog.  You see, as you read this, Tucker, the original Talking Dog, is in the arms of the angels.  I promise to write more about Tucker and celebrate his 14 years of life with us, but not right now.  Forgive me for this short post;  my grief is too fresh to bark a lot today.

Today's song is In the Arms of the Angels sung by Sarah McLachlan and it is accompanied by lovely Rainbow Bridge art, as well as The Rainbow Bridge Poem.

Grab a dog.  Grab a box of tissues.  Sit.  Stay.  Please think a good thought for our Tucker and all your own canine friends who will greet you at the Rainbow Bridge.  When you've mopped up your tears and blown your nose, scroll down below the dog song video to browse some brilliant dog blogs because today is a Pet Blogger Hop.

Food Chain Claims Isabel the Cat

I hate barking about sad news, but thought it was time I did. Isabel is no longer with us. I'm surprised how much I miss her. Though I never let on that I liked it when she rubbed up against my legs or laid down beside me for a nap in the grass... I did like it. Lucy has been spending more time than usual with Skeeter and I know it's because she misses Isabel, too. But it's Jeffie who really misses the little hussy. They were great pals.

Isabel just showed up here one day and we always thought she was dumped. She was too friendly to be the offspring of one of the many feral cats in our rural neighborhood. And she left us the same way: suddenly. Daddy found her body clear up by the road. Her neck had been snapped. I've lived in the country my whole life, so I know all about the food chain. However, it's never claimed one of our own before, so it's pretty hard to swallow. A coyote? A neighbor dog? We'll never know. All we know for sure is that we miss her.

Woof! Woof! Tucker