Tippii was the best friend I ever had. I got Tippii when I was 8, I am now 23 (22 at his passing) My mom bought him for me because we moved around so much that I had trouble making friends in my new schools. She felt if I had a dog that I would always have a friend no matter where we moved. Tippii became my best pal. I never had a dog of my own before, he was my first. When we got him he was a big ball of white fur with a little black button nose. When we went to get him he was the only puppy left in the litter and he was the runt. It was love at first sight.
Wherever I went, Tippii went…he followed my mom and me everywhere. He was always under foot. He layed with us when we watched movies, and my mom and I even had a game “Tippii in the middle” where we’d throw his dinosaur (his favorite toy) back and forth while he chased it.
When I was 19 my mom moved to Florida and Tippii went too. He loved it, for the sun was always shining and he could bask in it whenever he wanted. It was his favorite thing to do.
Recently my mom moved to South Carolina and on the way Tippii got a little sick. Within the past 2 years, he had developed some kidney failure…but nothing too tragic. I drove down to see my mom on Thanksgiving. I had not seen Tippii in 2 1/2 years…to my surprise he was not the boy I remembered. He was sluggish, blind, deaf, and thin. My mom had told me about it, but I was not prepared for what I was about to see. He had trouble walking, but still followed us around everywhere.
I left to go home after 3 days, and the night I got home my mom called me crying telling me he was in a great deal of pain and couldn’t walk. She took him to the vet the next morning, and he vet said he had gall stones, bladder stones, and one in his urethra and he was too old to survive the surgery. They sedated him to ease the pain, and I bought the first ticket I could get to fly back down to South Carolina. I would not let my best friend go without saying goodbye. He had also become my mom’s baby, and we needed each other because for all the years
it was just the 3 of us.
My mother picked me up from the airport, and Tippii was in the car sedated. He would make little barks as he was coming out of sedation. As we drove the 24hr vet I held him crying telling him how much I loved him and how happy he had made me and that he was indeed my best friend ever. And my mom I would tell stories about all fun things he did. When we’re at the vet, we put his blankey down on the table and snuggled his dinosaur under his arm and my mom and I held him as he passed over to the Rainbow Bridge. I cried for him and apologized that we had to do this but it was the best thing. He could no longer be in pain anymore. My mom and I held him afterwards and kissed him and said goodbye. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.
I think about him all the time, and I miss him very much. When I returned home the next day, the dog my y husband and I have (11 mo. old Vizsla) was in distress…it turned out his stomach and flipped and he was hemeraging…”Uncle Tippii” was his guardian angel…I like to believe Tippii had something to do with Kona’s survival.
Tippii, mom and I love you and I was always be,
| Tippii |
| Bethany Swinehart |