My Dog Tucker.
Tucker came into our lives in the spring of 1992 We fell in love with him immediately. Dalia was pregnant with our first child and we had just moved into our first home.
My most profound memory of Tucker as a puppy was his tenacious spirit. I had made a rule that first day that he sleeps in the locked foyer until he was toilet trained. Being a hound dog he barked for four hours constantly until he had made it into our bedroom. While in a locked dog cage in the bedroom, he scraped at the bars and barked continuously for a further two hours. Somehow he managed to unlock the dog cage and not being satisfied with the run of the floor in our bedroom and being too small to jump up on our bed he proceeded to bark for a further hour until we finally relented and lifted him up onto our bed. The process of him obtaining his goal of sleeping on our bed had taken seven hours and totally exhausted both him and us. He slept thru the next day and could not bark for a further two more days. He proceeded to spend the next
five years of his life sleeping in our bed
I then made another rule; Tucker was to be locked in our unfinished basement when we were not at home. The first time we did this and returned home Tucker was at the front door to greet us. He had torn thru the wood trim, the doorframe, dry wall and carpeting in order to get out the basement. On my second attempt I had built an elaborate six foot tall retaining wall at the bottom of the basement stairs, he defeated this barrier before I had time to leave the house. From that point on he had the run of the house.
He never did soil the carpet as a puppy, he just refused to be alone and would stop at nothing in order to be
in the company of others.
Next came attempts at teaching him to walk properly on a leash. This is something that he never perfected and was never in synch with the person walking him. He always had his own mind on where he wanted to go and would attempt to lead the walker and control what locations were stopped at and sniffed.
Then in an attempt to keep him within our property boundaries I erected a four-foot fence. Upon completion I was amazed and devastated to watch Tucker jump over this fence and back without even taking a run at it.
Finally there was his jumping at people when they arrived for a visit. For ten years Tucker did this, for ten years I tried to get him to stop doing it, but Tucker had his own mind set and had decided very early in life that that was the way he was going to greet people and no one was going to break him of that.
These are just a few signature traits that made Tucker “Tucker”.
Others included:
– His over pronounced, “Dog walk” to the left.
– His perplexed look with his head tilted to the left, when he was trying to understand what someone wanted him to do.
– His constant need of human companionship.
– Being Dalia’s never ending shadow, even when she went to the washroom.
– His ability to eat half his body weight in food or junk, if you gave him half a chance.
– His acceptance of all other humans and dogs that happened into his life, including our two children, which Tucker was extremely jealous of, attention towards Tucker gradually lessened as our kids grew and became more time consuming.
– His unconditional love for me. On many occasions I would reprimand Tucker and he would keep coming back to me after I had just hit him, until I patted him on the back. It bothered him to know I was upset with him and he would not settle until he knew he had been forgiven.
– His never-ending stamina, speed and agility. Never did he not want to chase a ball, wrestle or go for a run.
– His recognition of the word “walk” if someone were to say the word, even in general conversation, he would jump to his feet, tail a wagging and begin to bark for his leash.
– His behavior when put in a kennel. The first time he was placed in a kennel the owner said he barked constantly for the whole week and did not eat a thing. When we arrived home he stared at me, bent over and took his first “dump” on our carpet. He had lost 15 pounds, his snout and paws were raw from scraping and he had no voice. He simply hated being confined and being left alone and the “dump” was his way of letting me know that he did not appreciate it.
– His uncanny ability to sleep in a car for an entire trip and then jump to attention and begin to bark when we were within five minutes of our destination.
– His habit of greeting me at the front door by rolling over on his back and wagging his tail, waiting for his tummy to be rubbed. He only did this when I arrived home late at night. If I came home during the day he would resort back to jumping up and down.
– His constant protection of our family, always barking at the first sign of visitors and keeping tabs on everybody who was on the hiking trail.
– His stubborn attitude, he would jump the fence, knowing he would get reprimanded, and when he came back his tail would be between his legs. To him a swat on the behind was worth the 10 minutes of absolute freedom.
It took little time before Tucker became accepted as family and was allowed pretty well everywhere our family went. For that we were grateful. As the years progressed Tucker’s behavior tamed down and negative occurrences became less and less frequent. I believe his favorite places were up at my parent’s cottage and walking in the fields close to our home. Tucker had pointer instincts but did not know what to point to. Often he would run off the path and into the tall grass where you could just catch the top of his head bouncing up and down as he chased after field mice. At the cottage he would spend much of his time chasing after chipmunks or wading
in the water trying to catch minnows.
The decade with Tucker seems to have gone by quickly and now that he is gone I realize how much I took for granted and how important he was to my family and me. His love was unconditional and constant.
As I reflect on Tucker’s life, some interesting happenings include:
– The time he joined me on a fishing trip on the French river. He broke lose from his chain and ran away. After three hours of looking I located him at a five star resort three miles away, and he was being fed barbecue steak surrounded by a large group of “well to do people” at the time.
– The time I was camping with two friends Cam and Wayne. We all had single cots and were together in the tent with Tucker sleeping on the floor. At about four in the morning I was awakened by the sound of erratic breathing coming from my fairly slim friend Wayne. When I looked over I saw that Tucker had planted himself squarely in the middle of Wayne’s chest and was sleeping quite comfortably while at the same time suffocating poor Wayne.
– The time we were camping and he ran after a raccoon in the middle of the night. At this same time he was tied to a picnic table and subsequently dragged the table about 50 feet down into a swamp.
– The time I went fishing at the cottage and left Tucker behind. I had gone about two miles down the lake and was about 100 feet of shore when I heard a big splash. I looked over to see Tucker swimming towards the boat. He had followed me through thick bush all the way down the shoreline and then jumped in.
– The time he fell into rapids and subsequently went down a waterfall close to the trailer park in Huntsville.
– The time I thought he broke Dalia’s leg. We were playing Frisbee and both Dalia and Tucker went to catch it. Tucker won subsequently knocking Dalia about four feet in the air.
– The time he got his snout into a bee’s nest. His face was swollen shut for three days.
– The time he thought it would be a good idea to chase after a skidoo. He ended up in a cast with stitches and was lying low for several weeks after.
– The time he got into the garbage and ate approx. 20 pork chops bones. They did not come out as easy as they went in and he suffered greatly for a good week afterwards.
– The time a hot air balloon flew over close to our home. He ran into our bathroom shaking from fright and from that point on would always bark at low flying planes helicopters and hot air balloons.
– The countless times he stole food at opportune times.
– The countless times Tucker beat the dogcatcher home and we got off with a verbal warning.
Tucker began the last month of his life like any other, his energy level and habits were the same. The only difference was Tucker would sometimes let out a dry hacking cough as though something was stuck in his throat, but there was nothing there.
Four weeks before his death we were graced with a two-week vacation at my parent’s cottage, it sets my mind at ease knowing that he got to enjoy his favorite place so close to his passing. During our stay there the family along with Mom and Mike decided to go on a hike to Eels Creek. This was a 16 kilometre hike and the day was humid. Tucker lived for these types of excursions and would always go back and forth amongst the hikers making sure everyone was accounted for, as sometimes we would get quite spread out.
We had overextended ourselves for this type of hike as we had started late in the day. The walk had an estimated time frame of 4.5 hrs. and we started the hike 4 hours before the park was to close. At the half way point the boys no longer wanted to walk so Mike and myself proceeded to carry them. We walked ahead of my Mom and Dalia, as we wanted to make it back to the truck before the park closed. During the eight kilometre hike back I was surprised to see that Tucker had not once come ahead to check on us. He had stayed back with my Mom and Dalia. Eventually they arrived at the parking lot and all of us were exhausted. It was at that time, as Tucker hopped into the back of my truck, that I saw a look in his eyes that I had never seen before. He had a concerned worried look in his eyes and his ears were pinned back. I wrote it off as him being exhausted but I now realize he was feeling something wrong inside his head and recognized he did not have the same energy level. Perhaps he even felt guilty about not doing his job, which was to check up on everybody on the path.
Two days later he was back to his old self and we headed home on Saturday the 17th of August. The next week we were to have Dalia’s 40th birthday party at our house and we had to prepare.
Both Dalia and I worked the weekdays leading up to Dalia’s party. On one of those days (I believe it was the Wednesday) I came home and noticed dried blood at Tucker’s right nostril. I thought he had banged into something and didn’t give it much thought as his behavior and energy hadn’t changed.
Dalia’s party came and went with great success and Tucker appeared normal. Again we both worked through the week and again I observed dried blood under his right nostril on one of those weekdays. We had a camping trip planned for the Labour Day weekend and we were looking forward to the last family outing of the summer.
Early in the morning on Friday the 29th of August, Tucker was nestled in his basket at the base of our bed, where he had slept for the last five years. At this time we had been awaken by shaking noises and found Tucker to be suffering a violent seizure that lasted approximately ten minutes. I took him to the vet as soon as it opened and advised him of all the details. Tucker was checked out and showed no signs of ill health or that he had even suffered a seizure. Tucker being Tucker even growled at the doctor when he took his temperature anally. We were advised to monitor his condition and see if there is a pattern to his seizures.
We proceeded to go camping but were quite concerned with Tucker. Through the course of the long weekend Tucker suffered another five seizures and his energy level went downhill.
On the 3rd of September Dalia took Tucker back to the vet and blood work was done which showed normal. Tucker was then prescribed anti-seizure medication. The side affects of the drug were extreme and Tucker was gone for all intensive purposes from that point on. Although he did not suffer any further seizures, you could tell that something inside the right part of his head was causing extreme pain. He could not walk properly anymore or stand, he ate less and less and eventually had to be spoon-fed. Blood from his right nostril became more constant and his right eye began to swell shut. More and more often his head would shake as though he was having mini seizures. His eyes became dull and he lost weight rapidly. A subsequent visit to the vets ruled out a tooth abscess, infection or liver disease. His illness was more than just being epileptic and through a process of elimination, was believed to be a brain tumor. I surfed the net for many hours and gathered as much information as I could. All the signs led directly to Tucker having a brain tumor. During this two week period some of Tucker’s extended family took the opportunity to come and say goodbye. Uncle Mike even came up for an entire weekend. I was waiting for a miracle that was not to be and after two cancelled appointments Tucker was put to sleep on Monday the 16th of September at approximately 11:30 a.m. He had not had the energy to drink or get out of his basket for thirteen hours prior to this. I was with him when he took his last breath. I took him home and we buried him together, as a family, in our backyard.
Tucker died at the age of ten, from speaking to other people who have had similar size dogs it seems as though the average life expectancy for a dog of Tucker’s size should have been approximately 14 years. Three of my friend’s had dogs, which lived to sixteen. I think Tucker would have lived till at least sixteen if it had not been for the tumor, and that’s the one issue I find the most difficult to digest. Tucker was a great dog in every respect and deserved to “stick” around a lot longer.
That being said, I believe Tucker had a pretty full life, he was the recipient of a lot of love and care and got to experience places and things a lot of other dogs never do.
I know with time the sadness and despair I feel when thinking of Tucker will change to smiles and chuckles.
But for now,
I miss the security he provided my family
I miss my greetings when I come home
I miss his warmth as he would settle at my feet
o I miss the calming feeling when I patted his smooth fur
o I resent having to clean off my own dinner plates and throw out leftovers
o I miss having him to play catch and wrestle with
o I miss having him to walk
o I miss my adult security blanket
o I miss my friend
o I miss my dog
o I miss………Tucker
Till we meet again.
Tim and Family