![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This past Saturday morning our dog Tucker, after a long decline over the past few years, couldn't get up anymore and it was time to say goodbye. We'd celebrated his sixteenth birthday a month ago so he'd had a long life for a dog, thanks in part to getting good care and a special diet of food Erin and I made for him to support his failing kidneys. He'd been losing muscle mass for the past four years as well due to a neuro-muscular condition, but he had kept on going a lot longer than we thought he would and he had a good life right up to the end.
We'd gotten him as a puppy in 2009 from the same farmer in Wisconsin that we'd gotten our first English Shepherd, Missy, who was his aunt. I came up with Tucker for his name, which was inspired by Bob Tucker of SF fandom fame and it fit because Tucker was a handsome dog who definitely liked the girl dogs. Tucker travelled with us to many SF conventions over the years too and when Erin would signal him to raise his right paw and said "smooooth" it always got a laugh. Tucker also spent many weekends at Erin's renfest shop and enjoyed the attention from customers who just had to pet the good looking dog.
Erin was Tucker's #1 person and although he liked me and we had plenty of fun together too, at the end of the day he always ended up next to her or as close to her as he could get. He also liked our young English Shepherd, Ivy, and they would make a puppy pile on the sofa regularly. Tucker also got along wonderfully with our cat Charlie, and it was a ritual at supper time for Tucker to chase the cat in anticipation after we picked up their bowls to fill them. Tucker would also go find the cat when we asked him to, which came in handy when the cat sometimes got out.
When I was away from home I was glad Tucker was there to be a watch dog, because he could be pretty intimidating when guarding the house. Dogs are much better than guns for that, because you can't sneak up on a dog and they're a lot nicer to pet as well. After we moved to Arizona, Tucker also was responsible for chasing our neighbor's stray goats and guinea fowl back where they belonged and he always had a grin after doing it. I'm sure Ivy will do a good job of that too as she has a reliable recall now and won't keep chasing them after they've gone back home.
Mostly though, Tucker was just always around the house and we'll miss him. Ivy now is an only dog and we'll be looking for another dog soon as we have plenty of room for another pup. Dogs really don't like being all alone when we're out and while Charlie the cat and Ivy get along well it's not the same as having Tucker to be with. Tucker was our fourth dog we've had over the past 24 years (Ivy is our sixth) and we had sixteen good years with him and he with us. Lucky dog, lucky us. And of course, Tucker was a good boy.
P.S. - for those keeping track of our dogs, yes, we also had Simon who lived with us too, after we adopted him back in 2021, but Tucker and he didn't get along (which was Tucker's fault) and after talking with a friend back in New Richmond who liked Simon enough to adopt, he's now living a great life with her and her other dog.
We'd gotten him as a puppy in 2009 from the same farmer in Wisconsin that we'd gotten our first English Shepherd, Missy, who was his aunt. I came up with Tucker for his name, which was inspired by Bob Tucker of SF fandom fame and it fit because Tucker was a handsome dog who definitely liked the girl dogs. Tucker travelled with us to many SF conventions over the years too and when Erin would signal him to raise his right paw and said "smooooth" it always got a laugh. Tucker also spent many weekends at Erin's renfest shop and enjoyed the attention from customers who just had to pet the good looking dog.
Erin was Tucker's #1 person and although he liked me and we had plenty of fun together too, at the end of the day he always ended up next to her or as close to her as he could get. He also liked our young English Shepherd, Ivy, and they would make a puppy pile on the sofa regularly. Tucker also got along wonderfully with our cat Charlie, and it was a ritual at supper time for Tucker to chase the cat in anticipation after we picked up their bowls to fill them. Tucker would also go find the cat when we asked him to, which came in handy when the cat sometimes got out.
When I was away from home I was glad Tucker was there to be a watch dog, because he could be pretty intimidating when guarding the house. Dogs are much better than guns for that, because you can't sneak up on a dog and they're a lot nicer to pet as well. After we moved to Arizona, Tucker also was responsible for chasing our neighbor's stray goats and guinea fowl back where they belonged and he always had a grin after doing it. I'm sure Ivy will do a good job of that too as she has a reliable recall now and won't keep chasing them after they've gone back home.
Mostly though, Tucker was just always around the house and we'll miss him. Ivy now is an only dog and we'll be looking for another dog soon as we have plenty of room for another pup. Dogs really don't like being all alone when we're out and while Charlie the cat and Ivy get along well it's not the same as having Tucker to be with. Tucker was our fourth dog we've had over the past 24 years (Ivy is our sixth) and we had sixteen good years with him and he with us. Lucky dog, lucky us. And of course, Tucker was a good boy.
P.S. - for those keeping track of our dogs, yes, we also had Simon who lived with us too, after we adopted him back in 2021, but Tucker and he didn't get along (which was Tucker's fault) and after talking with a friend back in New Richmond who liked Simon enough to adopt, he's now living a great life with her and her other dog.
