Pillow Tuck

I was doing a little bit of research on the web and found this site about vizsla rescue and their “Rainbow Bridge” page. I read a few of the posts (which will bring any dog lover to tears) and decided to post this one.  This one especially hit home as Mr. Tazz-a-Razz was obviously loved like Tucker was loved, and the last paragraph just hit my heart as it is exactly our sentiments about our “little Guy”.

Please, if you get a chance, check out the site and remember how many of these “Little Guys” are out there and need that little extra love that isn’t always in their lives.

We were extremely lucky in our adoption of “The Bodester”, and we couldn’t even think of life without the little guy running around us, he has already given us a gift, as we have given him.

Please Lord, look after them all, they will give you endless hours of enjoyment and amazement, and I guarantee that their companionship will be a blessing a hundred-fold over – and I can personally attest to the fact that Tucker will always be by your side, will always protect you from harm, and will always give you complete and unconditional love – please guide him until we can be with him again…

MR. TAZZ-A-RAZZ
Jan 2000 – Dec 2006

I will miss you my friend. You have been a joy. A blessing. A true friend. No matter what paths this life leads us down you will always be in my heart and mind. I thank you for your time and your love. Thank you for choosing me to be in your life. I have never had a pup that had so much heart and love to give to others. I am sorry for your sickness but know in your heart that I love you and will always love you. My friend, My buddy, MY LITTLE MAN! I promise I will see you again and together we will be in the end. I will never forget my little blue eye pup. I will never let your memory die. You have given me more in the short time you have been with me than I could have ever ask for. You have showed me compassion,love,understanding. But most of all you have taught me the true meaning of “BEST FRIEND”… I love you!

Lord, Please watch over my little man until we can be together again. He will love you, He will protect you. He IS a true friend. Please let him know that I loved him with all my heart and that we will be together again. Amen.

From Utah/Idaho Vizsla Rescue

Tucker and Me Getting Some ShutEye

I laugh sometimes at the emotions that we feel from losing a dog, how we can be so torn up, how we can be hurt even more from the loss of Tucker then we are in the loss of a family member.  But I know that dog people understand the loss, the love of a companion and best friend, the closeness that comes with spending virtually every moment, for 12 years, with something that you have raised from a puppy, have trained to be the very best that he could be, have had him love you completely and unconditionally, have watched him step in front of a Rottweiler twice his size when he felt that there was a threat to his family, and have put yourself on the line if you felt he was threatened in any way.

Tucker was never just a dog to us, was never just thrown in the backyard to take care of himself, from the day he came home he was a member of our family, a member of our life, and a huge part of our hearts, and even though the healing has begun, and we know it will only get better, we never want to forget all the silly things Tucker did, we never want those images of him walking the trails in front of us to fade away, we always want to remember all of the good, the sweetness, and the love that he brought, and we hope that you readers won’t mind our little remembrances of Tucker to go along with our new memories that are being built everyday with Bodi.

Tucker and Me - Sweet Dreams

They say that time heals, and hopefully the healing has begun in our family.

Since we all lost Tucker, Nancy and I have been a mess, the slightest thought of Tucker, which are always there since we took him everywhere, would bring tears to our eyes, the mention of the loss to a friend or loved one would bring all to tears, the hearts in this house were torn apart. We tried to make sure that Bodi’s life was interrupted as little as possible, not wanting to bring grief on him for something he had no hand in… But Bodi was feeling the hurt as well, while around the house he has been as clingy as possible, following us from room to room, waiting for us outside the door if we need a little privacy. Even stepping outside to the back yard, Bodi has calmed his hunting instincts down a few notches, and at times he would make a quick beeline, do his thing, and then run right back to stand with us on the back steps.

The toys and stuffed animals have gone untouched, the squeakers left inside the stuffed toys instead of torn from the stuffing as soon as possible, the limbs left to flop for another day. The pillow that had come to our house with Bodi has gone untouched, the stuffing left intact, the pillow un-violated in Bodi’s slightly perverse fashion.

Our home has not been the same…  But over the last few days…

Bodi has started to come into his own, it may sound silly, but since Bodi was immediately placed into his position in the pack when he entered our home, and he understood it fully – we rarely had any problems from the day he joined our pack.  If anything, over the last few months, Bodi had been even more careful around Tucker, even when we took them to the park to play with all of their friends, Bodi would always be watching out for Tucker – he would run and play , but he was always running back to check on Tucker, to lick his face, or to just stand next to him.  Bodi was a little abrasive with some of the dogs, especially the smaller ones, and we were concerned about that.

Bodi Showing Us All How To Work

Since the day that Tucker passed on, Bodi has been with us almost 24 hours a day, luckily I can bring Bodi on my daily excursions to work, something that I had done quite often with Tucker, and he has stepped into that role completely. He runs down the halls to greet everyone when he comes in the door, he crashes out in the chair that Tucker used to sleep in, and he gladly spends the entire day with us. Bodi has been much easier with other dogs, even the small ones, and the dogs that he had small skirmishes with don’t seem to bother him as much.

And, since yesterday, Bodi has started to pick up the toys, bringing them to the bed at night, even playing with them for small periods of time. Nancy and I can actually talk about Tucker without a box or two of Kleenex always standing by, although the deeper emotions still bring the floods. We can take Bodi for a walk and not spend the entire time wondering how we are going to get through it.

So, the healing seems to have started, and hopefully as time passes, the pain will slip into the background, and the memories will pile up with Bodi, to join the ones that we have already stockpiled of Tucker… We’re sure that Tucker wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Bodi is fitting in to our family just about as perfectly as he possibly can, he is different from Tucker in so many ways, and exactly the same in ways that would surprise you.

He still goes full-bore at everything he does, dives in with both… uh… make that four feet, and makes every day an adventure. We take him for walks and once he gets off leash he hunts, and hunts, and hunts… Birds, Bunnies, Lizards, Butterflies, you name it and he hunts it, but now he actually hears us when we call him back, even when hunting.

Bodi and Tucker are becoming great friends, they cover each others backs when they are out with other dogs, each one makes sure to see that everything is ok when the other gets in trouble. They sleep next to each other, actually touching at times. Bodi waits for Tucker to finish his dinner before he slides in and cleans his bowl up. Bodi lets Tucker pick up a toy before, yes actually before he grabs it out of Tuckers mouth. He lets us help Tuck up on the bed before he jumps up and stakes out his spot.

We can leave both Tucker and Bodi alone when we leave the house now, Tucker crashes out on the sofa and Bodi grabs his spot on the window seat just so he can keep an eye on everything and be the first one to see us when we come home.

Our nephew came up from San Diego and Tucker, remembering Taylor was as excited as can be, and Bodi took to him like a long lost friend, tackling him and licking his face just to make sure that he doesn’t forget what Bodi love is all about. Our niece came over to take care of both of the boys while Nancy and I were out of town, and other than a little barking at first, just to let her know that he noticed her, Bodi was as happy as could be and took her out to watch him while he did his thing out there. Bodi believes that he is a great guard dog, and we let him keep an eye on things in the neighborhood, just for kicks.

The truth is, we love this guy (still has about 8 pounds to come off before we can call him, little guy), he hugs us, he licks our faces, he follows us around and makes sure that he is a part of everything we do. We love everything about him, we wouldn’t trade a bit of his “quirks” away, we love how much he has fit into our lives, and we make sure to let him know how much we love him too.