Tucker
Sadly, Tucker was put to sleep today. He started having seizures 4 months ago and, since they were spread very far apart (3 months from the first 2 to the 3rd, then 3 weeks to the next), we waited to put him on anti-seizure medication. Once the seizures were occurring every day, we put him on phenobarbitol. We knew the seizures were most likely caused by a brain tumor, but, because of his age (he would have turned 14 next month), we declined any testing other than a regular blood test (which was normal). For the last 5 days, Tucker has been very weak. He’d take a few steps and either fall down or topple over on his side. He walked into walls and doors and looked at things as if he had never seen them before. Always a big barker, he stopped that and started howling. He needed help going outside and, except for eating, had no quality of life. Tucker was our introduction to rescue. He turned 6 three days after he arrived here, and he arrived with a lot of baggage. His former owners gave him up because of a divorce. He was what I called a billy goat gruff. He was ornery and willful and ignored most of our commands; he also wasn’t a very affectionate dog. For six of our eight years together, he fought us; two years ago, he changed into a very nice dog. We loved him throughout. We’ll miss you, old guy. Run free at the Rainbow Bridge.
Bill & Martha Greer