Tribute to Tucker: Feb. 2002 to 2013

There are no words to express our heartache.  We lost Tucker yesterday afternoon to Pneumonia.  We are both in shock and having a hard time with this.  He was our sweet boy.

He's had Pneumonia 3 times in the past 8 months.  The Specialist said that there must have been some serious underlying issues with his immune system.  This 3rd time came on suddenly and we were not prepared to lose him.

We got Tucker and Sophie only 2 months after we were married.  In fact, Tucker just had his 11th birthday on Feb 18th; just a few days ago.  He has always had such personality - that may be the best way to describe him.  He was such a lover - we would carry him around in a dog carrier until he was too large (see below).  But, we think he always missed that.  He was definitely the quintessential large-lap dog.

A few things about Tucker that we will always remember:

• He loved us and we loved him and always will.  
• He was the runt of the litter but he grew to be taller than Sophie.
• His bark was unusual, to say the least...some even thought that we had him de-barked!!! Can you imagine how offended we were - smile.
• He LOVED, LOVED, LOVED popcorn and ice cubes.  
• He was like Gumby - we always called him Floppy.  You'll see some of that in the pictures.
• He LOVED water and snow.  He would eat the snow whenever he could.  He would also try to drink the water in the pool while he worked out in the treadmill (see previous post).
• He was immensely patient with Sophie.  Whenever we were making noise or doing something that would make her nervous, he would sit patiently and let her lick his ears until they were bent backwards.  That's when we knew she was upset somehow or being such a "nervous nelly."
• He was all about comfort - he sought it out.  He would sneak up on the couch pretty much every time we left the apartment...
• He was ever the "Doggy Lifeguard" at the dog park (there was a little pond) and at any pool.  I think it drove people a little nuts sometimes but he was just worried and felt it was his duty.
• He loved towels after a bath or a rainstorm.  We would drape it over him and he would walk around with it.  Both of them actually got soooo excited whenever the towels came out.
• And, to Grandma A, he will always be her Little Lion.

We are planning on having a Memorial for him at his favorite dog park in a few months and we will let you know when.

Lots and lots of pictures...

Puppy Pix:

More Recent Pictures:

And, of course, Tucker lying on the sofa that he had chewed...

Tucker and other older dogs got along great - here he is with Grandma B's Dog, Tess.  I know they are in heaven playing together.

New Friend, Tyler (17 years old); Tucker really liked him and he liked Tucker:

One of our favorites - Tucker had just jumped into this chair - Christmas 2005

You will always be in our hearts - our sweet boy

Tucker's Physical Therapy

Hi All!
Thought I would update you on Tucker's Physical Therapy.  I got a video of the water treadmill today.

Sophie was a good girl today; patiently waiting on her brother.

Now, Tucker is resting :-)

Our Biggest "Dog Bed" Yet!

Hi All,

We thought you would get a kick out seeing our beautiful new rug.  But, we quickly found out that Sophie and Tucker (first Tucker) immediately thought it was a new dog bed for them!

Ha!

The Collie Puppet

Hi All!  Mom and Dad gave us a fun gift for the dogs - a collie puppet...as you will see Tucker wants nothing to do with it and with P making doggie bark noises in the background, it's all very fun!

I took this video looking down, so it looks a little funny, but Sophie's having a kick with her little play toy.

Tucker's Feeling Better & Sophie's New Toy

Hi All - I know my posting has been intermittent, but we've been going through some good personal and location changes, so I look forward to catching you up and posting some new things...

Well, we had quite a scare with Tucker on Monday night.  He had had a big day...bath in the morning and then Vet follow up afterwards, but nothing prepared us for being at the Pet Emergency room that night!  It all came on so sudden!  His chest was rattling and he was retching.  Some $$$ later he had X-rays and Bloodwork - we're so thankful for the excellent care!  He had pneumonia!!!!  The ER Vet said that he aspirated on water or something.  Our regular Vet said that sometimes older dogs have a hard time controlling their trachea, so I hope it doesn't happen again.


Our Vet is following up with us daily and he even took multiple calls from me yesterday.  Tucker wasn't keeping much down and he wasn't interested in eating, poor guy.  But, now he is lying beside and ate this morning and I've seen so much improvement just today.


On the Sophie side, she got a new toy today.  I went down to the office and our favorite lady, "T", gave Sophie and Tucker toys - see how she enjoyed them!!