Gold Ribbon Rescue Adoptables

#05-161 Tucker's adoptive parents, Richard & Yvette Sabe' emailed the sad news that Tucker unexpectedly became very ill. They made the difficult decision to put him to sleep on 06/29/06.

Tucker would have been 10 this August. He was the handsome & zippy boy, surrendered because his dad Cullen was moving to hospice because of Cullen's liver cancer. Cullen brought Tucker to Gary & me on Christmas Eve, and we spent the evening with Cullen...it was a sad surrender, because Cullen adored Tucker. Tucker spent about a month in foster care with us.

Richard & Yvette, along with their 2 young sons were a perfect match for Tucker. They loved him, and Tucker spent almost 6 months as their boy. I wish it could have been much longer. It is hard to imagine that Tucker is gone...he was so full of fun & love.

If Richard & Yvette decide at some point to adopt again -- whether it is soon or after awhile -- they are a wonderfully caring home that any of our dogs would be lucky to share.

It is with deep, deep sorrow, that I tell you Tucker passed away today. Tucker was the best dog this family has every had, and can not imagine another dog ever to be the same. This was so quick; I came home to Tucker at 2pm yesterday and found that he was disoriented, had a lazy eye, vomit and urine on the floor. I took Tucker to the vet and he seemed to improve slightly until this morning. Tucker went into seizures at about 745 this morning and did not stop nor was he affected by the drugs that we administered. We had to make one of the hardest decisions we have had to make.

GRR has given us a wonderful, but ever so short a gift that this family will never, ever forget. Thank you very much for Tucker and the opportunity to experience such a beautiful, caring and playful dog.

Tucker ...“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Tucker’s human dad said, as he surrendered his friend of 9 years to Gold Ribbon Rescue. “I got Tucker when he was 7 weeks old, and we have been best buds ever since.” The man, age 44, had liver cancer & was preparing to move to hospice.

He talked about Tucker for over 2 hours… about how Tucker loves vanilla wafers… is terrified of thunderstorms & crawls into a small space to hide… how he talks & snorts & groans when he is content… loves his stuffed animals, Bambi & Thumper… likes cats & small animals, even attempting to befriend an opossum… and has never tried swimming, though he likes to wade. And he told us how Tucker got his name—as a puppy, he liked to “tuck” his little head under your arm, between your knees, even into your sleeve.

At our house, Tucker took some time to get used to our rowdy Golden gang, who can be overwhelming in their happy exuberance. If he had his druthers, Tucker would live with more sedate dogs or cats— “With some manners!” he suggests.

Lest you think Tucker is stuffy, think again. Tucker is the first one to zip upstairs to Gary’s office, and then he charges back down again, 16 stairs, ZOOM! He storms out the house just as fast as anyone when it’s time for the Nightly 5:00 Dog Drive…five Goldens in the back of the Explorer, 15 mph through the neighborhood, windows down.

Tucker is an effective communicator. When he wants to go outside, he stands by the side of my desk & says “Ohhhhh.” If ignored, he slams his two heavy paws on my paperwork and puts his face right up to mine, “Ohhhhh.”

Tucker is trustworthy loose in the house & totally housetrained, of course. He is a good pal & a go-along-have-fun type of guy, ready for a permanent home of his own.