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I stood by your bed last night …I came to have a peep.
I could see that you’d been crying,and you found it hard to sleep.

I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear, “It’s me. I haven’t left you. I’m well, I’m fine, I’m here”.

I was close to you at breakfast… I watched you pour your tea.
You were thinking of the many times your hands reached down to touch me.

I was with you at my grave today… you tend to it with such care.
I want to reassure you. That I’m not lying there.

I walked you towards the house as you fumbled for the key.
I gently put my paw on you…I smiled and said, “it’s me”.

You looked so tired as you sank into your chair.
I tried so hard to let you know that I was sitting there.

It’s wonderful for me to be so near you everyday,
To say to you with certainty, “I never went away”.

You sat there quietly, then smiled… I think you knew
That in the stillness of the evening I was very close to you.

And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I’ll rush across to meet you and we’ll stand there side by side.

I have so many things to show you ! There’s so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out, then come home to be with me.

At the time we had 4 cats, and if you want to know what disrupting a household is like – just throw a Vizsla into this mix – Luckily Tuck always loved the cats, only one of them actually came to love Tuck though, but I can’t blame them for that – they’re just stupid cats after all.

Tucker was always willing to learn, and fit right into our life perfectly – we took him everywhere that we could, and he learned to be a big part of things without getting in the way.  To this day we still have people that tell us that he was their favorite dog ever – and some of them have dogs in their lives at the time. Tuck always loved all of our friends and in return they loved him too.

Tucker was the most sensitive soul I ever knew, if Nancy and I raised our voices he would get upset, start to shake and eventually would leave the room to hide out, of course this made it difficult to watch sports, since we would be yelling at the game and suddenly notice that Tucker wasn’t in the room with us, and we would have to go find where he was hiding away from our yelling. The easy thing was that we always knew if there was a problem, because Tuck would never be out of the room that we were in – so, no Tuck, and you knew something was up.

This sensitivity really came into play whenever one of us was hurting, Tucker would become the biggest cuddle monster and would go out of his way to be there for us.  When Nancy went through breast cancer Tucker spent many a day wrapped around her making sure she was OK.  He would walk up and put his nose on your nose and just look into your face, an incredible boy to say the least.

We’ve had our own business for quite a while now, which makes it easy to bring our boys with us, Tucker was always the star of the show… We had clients that we would call to confirm a meeting and they would ask if we were bringing Tucker with us, and would make sure to let us know that if Tucker wasn’t coming, there really wasn’t any reason to meet at that time, and we could wait until Tucker could be present.  The best part is that they would have a chair at the meeting table for Tucker so that he could crawl up in the chair and crash out while we conducted our meeting.

The memories stream back quickly, too quickly at times as they bring tears with them.  The time he was brain-cramping and hit his leg on a hidden rock – we thought he had broken it – he just stood there holding it up and crying for us… The time he was doing his brush surfing (hopping through the deep brush so he could see above it) and we watched him jump up and then disappear as he went over the edge of a ravine and landed in the creek about 15 feet below, we had to hang over the edge and pull his wet butt back up to the trail… Coming home one time after leaving him inside for about 12 hours (we got stuck somewhere) and finding a little bit of pee tinkled throughout the house as Tucker ran from the back door, to the kitchen door, to the front door, up the stairs – everywhere, trying to find any way out, finally ending up in the upstairs bathroom where he finally releaved himself on the tile (We felt so bad for that one, he tried so hard to find a way out!!!)…

I think of all of the nicknames we had for our guy, I could go on about the Tucker forever, but we have to save those for another time.

Tonight I will raise a toast (and please, everyone reading this, do the same) to the dog that really thought he was human, to the dog that taught us about true commitment and love, to the one and only “T”…

These Pics (except the one with Nancy) were all taken the last morning that we had Tucker, they are tough to see at times, everything comes flying back – but they are the last ones we got and will always show that even on his last day he was the most gentle soul possible.

IT’S ON – How could either one of us actually let dad sleep when we both want the prime real estate next to his head…

How could that ever happen!!!

Dad, trying to exert his leadership throws his hand up… Spinning through the hand, each dog tries to catapult the other off the bed… Fighting through, Bodi throws Oliver on his back, Dad tries to ignore the fast moving red blurs… The fighting (playfully) gets fierce and the sounds of nipping teeth and playful growls gets intense… Bodi, sensing an opening lunges in and nips Oliver on the ear, the fighting is intense… Realizing that the space is lost, and the bed is soft, Bodi starts to slip into sleep again, as Oliver turns his attention to the man under the covers…And through this all, who is filming???

Instead of breaking the fight up and letting the lump sleep??? ]]> http://www.thegooddogblog.com/2010/06/23/sleeping-with-the-enemy/feed/ 0 http://www.thegooddogblog.com/2010/06/21/in-loving-memory-streak-and-jill-god-rest-your-sweet-souls/ http://www.thegooddogblog.com/2010/06/21/in-loving-memory-streak-and-jill-god-rest-your-sweet-souls/#comments Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:48:41 +0000 Nancy http://www.thegooddogblog.com/?p=748 To all of our doggie friends out there, we just wanted to let you know that our dear friends have lost their puppies this past week.  Our friends Patti & Matt have lost their 12 year old Rottweiler, Jill.  Patti & Matt had adopted Jill… just 9 short months ago.  Jill needed a good, warm, loving home and

Puppy Rottie

Patti & Matt had taken her in, to comfort her.. after losing their 11 year old Rottie, Jessica.  So they have suffered two losses in the past year, plus the loss of Tucker, as they knew Tucker very well.  Tucker and Jessica had been good friends for many years!  My love goes out to Patti and Matt.. “I love you both… and take comfort in knowing that Jill is with Jessica and Tucker right now and they are free and healthy!

To Streak’s parents, Andrea & Rob… we all feel the pain of your loss and we do know what

Beautiful Streak

you are going through right now.  Please accept this post as our tribute to Streak (as well as Jill) and to you guys and Magnum as well.  The love of our dogs is endless… endless.  That love will go on forever, trust me.  I still feel Tucker’s presence here, very strongly.  Tuck has been gone for 10 months now and  I know that he is still with us, in our hearts and will be forever.  I know that you cannot reach out and touch Streak, but know that in your hearts, he is with you and will be forever.  Streak is no longer in pain and no longer suffering… and HE knows that you did all that you could do for the little guy.  Let his love carry you through… and let the love of Magnum embrace your soul and keep you safe.

Tucker's Urn... "If Tears Could Build a Stairway, and Memories a Lane, I Would Walk Right Up to Heaven, and Bring You Back Again".

The love of our dogs will go on forever… Please, as you read this post, I know that it will bring tears to your eyes, but also, let the love and comfort of your friends warm your hearts and get you through…

This is the saying that is etched on Tucker’s urn… “If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I would walk right up to heaven, and bring you back again”.   I know that this is how you feel about Streak (and to Patti and Matt, how you feel about Jill and Jessica).

God bless you all… and know that we are here for you!

With love,

Jim, Nancy, Bodi & Oliver Morrison

Oliver is a 1.5 year old that we adopted from SoCal Vizsla Rescue, He is a beautiful, extremely thin, very active, sweet young Vizsla that we will gladly welcome into his “Forever Home”.

Last night was his first night with us… What a sweet boy, he played long and hard with all of the toys that he could find, and then when we sat down to dinner, he curled up on the sofa and went to sleep.

At bed time, it took just a few to get him to calm down, but then he curled up next to Bodi, put his head on Bodi’s butt and went to sleep.

He definitely has some separation anxiety, but then it has only been 1 day and he is just getting used to the new digs. He tends to whine when left by himself, whether in the bedroom, or when left alone in the house, but seems to be much better when Bodi is nearby.

Couldn’t be happier, Nancy, Bodi, Oliver and I look forward to many more posts on this new subject, and new member of our family.

Just a real quick post… Nancy, Bodi and I went to our favorite Car Show… The French/Italian Show at Woodley Park, had a great time, great weather, great cars and great company.

Enjoy the shots, as usual, Bodi comes across as the happiest little guy around, he gets as many looks as the cars, and tons of people want to come up and ask about him – The hit of the party, and we, as usual, are the proud parents.

It always turns out to be a nice day, big park so Bodi gets to enjoy the grass and the picnic we have (and of course we started the tradition with Tucker, so we get all the memories), and we get to see some great cars and listen to some great Eye-Talian music… Good Stuff!!!

We all roll our eyes, laugh at the stupidity of the animal in front of us, and go back to trying to figure out how we could have spent so much money at the holidays!!!

Now, I ask you, which breed here is the stupid one? Which one of us needs to have our heads examined and be “rehabilitated”?

Tucker loved the paper rolls, you could toss it on the floor up in the third story bathroom and he would come flying up the stairs from the first floor to attack the toilet paper monster, he would carry around his prize kill until all had a chance to see, and then he would lay down and tear it to pieces. We loved to watch him, he loved the show as well, and still 2 months after his passing we find ourselves throwing the roll on the floor and waiting for the storm to come.

This is one of the traits that Bodi didn’t pick up from Tucker, he will just watch it hit the floor and walk away, wondering what all the fuss was about a stupid toilet paper roll, and then he’ll casually pick up Nancy’s bra and walk away with it, with that gleam in his eye, swearing that there is no way he is going to let this unholy monster get to us… and all of his new toys that we were dumb enough to bring home for him…

Bodi hard at work proving once and for all that he can crash out just as fully as Tucker could, I’m in the chair editing a video for a client, while this bum-of-a-dog is crashed out, snoring, and doing those cute little Vizsla kicks while he chases Squirrels in his dreamy-dream land.

Just something to set the tone for the weekend!!!

One of the things that we learned about Vizsla’s is something that we call “Brain Cramps”. I’m sure that every “V” owner will attest to this little bit of craziness.

When you are playing with your pup, and all of the sudden all hell breaks loose, the back hips drop near to the ground, the lips curl back, the ears start to flop all over the place, and time stands still… for you, for your Vizsla though, time has taken on a new meaning, they are moving as fast as they can, running like the wind, their shoulders seem to touch the ground as they negotiate a tight turn, they are growling and barking, and many times the slobber is thrown across the bridge of their nose.

Of course, we are egging them on, growling back at them, laughing as hard as they are playing, throwing our arms in the air just to see how much more insane they can become.  As they run at us,we run back at them, just to keep the game going.  I’m sure most other people must view us, the owners, as the crazy ones, as we “scare” our little dogs, but we know better, we are in Vizsla heaven, we are in the midst of the hunt with them, we are at one with our beasts.

I dare any Vizsla owner to deny that they have been here, I dare any Vizsla owner to say that they haven’t felt this.

With our beloved Tucker we also had a little thing that we called “Sand Dancing”.  We were treated to this one evening while walking Tuck near the playground at the school near us (Of course, this was before the schools around here were put into perpetual lockdown, before the “No Dogs Allowed” signs popped up, when they were still “public” schools).  As Nancy and I walked near the sandbox, Tucker dove in, and started dancing, he would dig a little, then spin around , throw all four paws out, get his face near the sand, and spin around, kicking sand in the air, then start all over again.  Nancy and I were loving it, and we would point him to sand anytime we were near it just to enjoy his complete happiness and joy with this soft, sandy treat.

These pictures were taken a few years ago when we took Tucker to the Beach Cruisers Car Show in Huntington Beach (Car lovers should circle this one on the calendar, great show), we split off from the show and went down to the beaches edge. Of course, Tucker couldn’t resist the sand and started Sand Dancing, people were staring and pointing, and we were loving it. Every once in a while Tucker would take a break, stand at the walls edge and check everybody and everything out, but his true love was the sand… and for a little while he was “The Lord Of The Dance”, and he was dirty, and he was sandy, and he was out of breath, and he was drooling… and best of all, he was Tucker.

Bodi is a master of “Brain Cramping”, he does it at the park, in the hills, in the backyard, Christ, he does it in the house (as Tucker did before him). He hasn’t picked up on the Sand Dancing yet, at least not in front of us, but we won’t hold it against him, and we’ll just egg him on a little bit everytime we get in the sand, just in case he has a bit of the dance in him.

These pictures bring back many memories, many great thoughts, and a bit of tears, but I am so thankful that we still have them as they trigger all of the emotions, good and bad, and for that we are blessed.

So, take your pups out, let them Brain Cramp, egg them on, let them be silly, let them run, bark, growl, let them be free, let them be dogs… and tell them of the “Sand Dancing Dog” of Southern California, for he was all of those things, he was deeply loved, and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.