"Tucker" The Story of a Dog

[SisKate]

Tucker.


When I was only one, my parents took me to upstate Washington, where we drove out into the beautiful, rural country side for hours. When we had driven a while, we pulled into a gravel driveway. That's when we saw him. Tucker.

My parents had decided to get a dog. More specifically, a Golden Retriever puppy, a cute little blob of fur, scurrying around the house. My dad carried me over to where the puppies were freely roaming and playing in the shadows of a tall, rustic old barn. A somewhat eldery, friendly couple greeted us with welcomes and cookies. We entered the kennel. Almost immediately, the whole litter of puppies ran over and nearly knocked me to the ground, trying to lick me and greet me. I laughed, and my dad hoisted me up off of the ground. The old man kept peeking around as we looked at the puppies. He said that he seemed to be missing one. I wanted to pet the puppies, and my dad set me back down. Just as he let go of me, a tiny red fluff ball of a pup came scootering around the corner, headed straight toward us and knocked me to the ground. I laughed and laughed as the little puppy licked my face all over, and wagging his tail so hard he was unbalanced. I loved this crazy pup, and he, obviously, loved me. Our decision was made. And we brought home Tucker.
********
Years passed, and my little brother was born. Tucker was getting bigger and bigger, smarter and smarter. He chewed just about anything he could get his teeth around, including spatchulas, underwear, Barbies, books, even video tapes. Tucker was descructive sometimes, but we loved him anyway.

He grew up so fast and finally grew to be such a big boy, he weighed over 95 pounds. He wasn't overweight, in fact, very athletic, and a gorgeous deep red color. Tucker still was crazy and never ran out of steam and was always entergetic. Tucker enjoyed romping in deep grass, at the beach and in snow, fetching, chewing, and especially swimming. Since he was bred a hunting dog, Tucker would fetch anything. But he never gave it back.

Now Tucker was getting older. You could tell from the white hairs steadily growing on his chin and around his eyes and nose. But that never stopped him. He was still just as spirited as before. But because of his age, Tucker started having problems. He became very, very sick for a few days, and couldn't even move. Eventually he snapped out of it and recovered to normal, but we knew it was coming. Tucker was the grand old age of ten now. And we knew there wasn't much longer.

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Away for the weekend, my family and I made the long haul up to Seattle to visit some family. Tucker was staying two nights at a dog kennel, where he usually bunked while we were gone on trips anyway. Tucker didn't seem to mind the place too much, and always gladly stepped through the back doors to where he'd stay. But when my dad and I went to drop him off that Friday afternoon, something about the way he looked at us through the glass door when we left shot a terrible feeling through our hearts. Tucker just looked at us in such a way that we knew we would miss him.

Driving home late Sunday night, my brother and mom were asleep in the car. I was watching a movie, curled up in my seat. My dad drove on, and at around ten, he recieved the call. He answered his cellphone, and was silent for a moment, then started speakind slowly in a hushed, choked up sort of way. I was worried. My dad was as tough as a tank, he rarely showed any hint of worry himself. He pulled over. Everyone was still asleep. Slowly he looked back at me, and I asked what was wrong.

Tucker had died.

I burst into tears, and that's when my mother woke up. She heard the news and also sobbed with me. My brother, who adored Tucker like a brother, was still fast asleep. We would have to tell him. When he woke up, my dad informed him and I don't think I have ever seen my brother so terribly hurt. The feeling was so grave. It was the most horrid thing I've ever felt. The worst, and most indescribable feeling ever.

We raced to the hospital where the kennel manager had taken Tucker. We walked into that veterinary room, and the vet explained that Tucker had had a large tumor in his spleen that had developed over the years that they couldn't have detected sooner. That's why he'd been getting so sick. The tumor had ruptured, and his organs were slowly being shut down, including his heart and lungs. Tucker couldn't breathe. He was suffocating. When he had reached the hospital, there was no hope. They humanely euthanised him to put him out of any pain. And slowly, Tucker slipped.

********

We still hold Tucker dearly to our hearts. And always will. The little red Golden Retriever that never calmed down, right up until the day he died.

That cute scootering little red blob of fur.




Rest in peace, buddy.

[Lil*Angel]

Awwww thats soo good...but soo sad.

[SisKate]

I know.. it was hard to write in between tears! I just read through it again, and I think I am going to try sumbitting it somewhere like the Chicken Soup books... who knows? Maybe they'll like it Thank you so much for the nice compliments! I really appreciate that.

SisKate

[Sleek]

Thats awesome. You should submit it to the chicken soup series!


Great Job

[SisKate]

Thank you! I think I might give it a go!

SisKate

[SisKate]

I submitted this story to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series! Wish it luck I'll update with any new information about it, too.

SisKate

[Amandaaa]

awww thats so nice bout than aging sad :[