Picture two old dogs sitting on a porch. One is a graying a Scottie, the other an old Shitzu. Both on soft blankets, overlooking a green
yard and trees with a big rainbow in the distance.
Gizmo: Hey, see that blob of color?
Tucker: Not really, I have not been able to really see for
some time or hear or run or properly chase a cat far. Hey, I am 14 years old
and you are 17. You do not even have
both eyes! I am surprised you can see anything.
Gizmo: I guess I am
sort of blind. Not that my eye was very useful at the time the weird lady took
it away. But boy can I still smell good things like other dog’s butts and when
there is food on the table.
Tucker: Have you noticed that every time our person takes us
to that lady in the place that smells bad and they do mean things to us, they
discuss how long we have on this side of the bridge? I have heard my person
talk about something called the Rainbow Bridge. I cannot see color on a good
day so why would I have to go there? I
know that rainbows come after thunderstorms, so I am not a fan. If it were made for us, it would be covered in pieces of meat and carrots and bones and chocolates and maybe some roast
beef.
Gizmo: When my person
talks about it, he seems so sad also.
What do you know about it the bridge?
Tucker: Well when my
person mentions it she gets those wet blobs in her eyes and her
eyes leak.
Gizmo: But they say good things about it, so I am
confused. If it is such a good place,
why are they sad?
Tucker: I think it is
because we must go there before they do. I think all we do is go there and wait
for them to join us later. Sort of like Doggie Daycare. We get treats and chase
balls and I think we get to hear and see and jump and be like we were when we
were puppies. I am not sure the cats are there, but I am hoping so and maybe a
squirrel or two. What would you want?
Gizmo: I would
want to bark at every officious interloper and have no one tell me “NO”. I would want to sit in a warm place in the
sun and have everyone tell me what a good dog I am being, even when I
bark. I would want endless Chicken Jerky
and not have it taken from me when I put it down for a short nap. I want to find Otis and have him show me what he has discovered since he was such a great explorer when he was here.
Tucker: I think we
are closer to being puppies. Do you remember when you first met your
person? They were so big, and it was so
confusing. They made those weird noises
with their eating holes and wanted to keep us off the floor and try to keep us
close. They tried to give us strange
food and thought we could not find the water place. I remember I had to meet lots of other things
like me. I had an older sister named
Sadie. She was bossy and would not let
me follow her. She would make her legs
go fast and I would think it was a game only to discover she wanted me
gone. She made lots of noises and
smelled different. I used my short legs
and I kept up with her. I also spent hours on end making sure our outdoor
space was completely free of a black cat named Lucy. She was so much fun. She ran when I barked. It was a great time. My head was so big that when I jumped over
things, I would just tumble and fall.
Come to think of it, my head is still big! I have the teeth of a land shark and I am not
afraid to use them.
Gizmo: I met my person when my first people had to leave me
in a weird cage. My new person found me and took me home. I was not the only
child but shared my person with Otis. Otis was a bad bad dog. He looked quiet, sweet, and listened but sometimes, he would get ideas in his head and just go for meandering journeys. He told me he was just exploring because he
had been a dolphin in a former life and could really move. Otis was
insulted that he was so confined in a dog’s body. That crazy dog would listen enough that he did
not have to be on the long string all the time but he was a problem. Being
the doting younger brother, I would just follow. He told me he was much smarter and wiser than
I. As I look back, we were lucky that we
made it back to our person time and time again.
Two 12” dogs wandering, in our neighborhoods, in the woods, down a busy
major thoroughfare. We were quite the
pair. Otis left a few years ago and I am
sort of excited to meet up with him again
One of my peeps says I am really a cat. I have been almost eaten by wild coyotes,
fallen in the window well twice, fell into the pond and had to swim for my life
and bark at the same time, I also just walked off the porch. John
found me once wandering in the basement.
15 steps down. I am practiced at
rolling. What about you?
Tucker: I have cost my peeps thousands of dollars
because of my love of food adventures. Yummy
to chocolate, Oreos, chocolate covered almonds, bird suet, rat bait, and of
course let us not forget the purple “edibles”.
I edibled three of them. Boy did
that make me crazy for a while. No one
worried about the beer that Lisa Cooper gave me when I was just 8 weeks old. The can was bigger than my tiny head.
My Name is Sir Tucker of Berwick and I am an alcoholic,
a
substance abuser AND a chocholic.
Tucker: Boy, we both have had a great life. I went to college;
you explored the world with Otis and John.
I have been fed endless carrots and slept on down comforters and chased squirrels
and chipmunks. I kept the yard free of pesky crows. I have
been on long hikes in the woods. I know I am going to go on that last long
chase soon. I will be free to bury my bones
and not have to worry about whether they have maggots on them. Just when the bones get good and ripe, I am not allowed to bring them into the house. It's called Aged.
Gizmo: My life has been grand. I know my person is going to
be incredibly sad for a long time because we are special friends. I have worked extremely hard to properly
train him and he has done a good job. I
wonder if he will still get up at 3 am. I
have been making him give me a peanut butter treat. I wake up and I am bored, so he
gets up with me. I of course must spend
a bunch of time making noise so he will awaken.
That other one refuses in the morning. She just closes the door and goes back to
sleep.
Tucker: I am a
Scotty. I only really care about one
person. Mary-Elizabeth has been my human. We are really one person. She has lots of good friends and a Mom, so she
won’t be alone, but I am special to her in another way. I will
go on walks and have dinner and sleep with other people, but she is my
person. She and I graduated from Gonzaga University in
Spokane. I worry about leaving her. I came to her when she was fighting a big battle with cancer. Then she did it
again. Lots of her worry was focused on
me and then she could focus less on her own worry. I am proud to say that I have been wonderful
for her, but I know my time here is coming to an end. I can feel it. I am slowing down. My brain is weird, and Mary-Elizabeth will
not let them poke and prod at me. She
knows it is too hard.
Gizmo: I guess when we talk, I realize it is going to be
okay. We are going to go ahead and be missed,
and they will cry and have lots of those heavy sighs. We are going someplace incredibly special and
we will wait. We are good at waiting unless
it is time for dinner or a walk or bedtime.
Gizmo: Tucker. Tucker.
Where did you go? I can tell you aren’t here anymore.
Tucker: My brain
went nuts again. Mary-Elizabeth held me
tight and told me I was going to be okay.
She held me so I could smell her cuz during the Bad Brain things I could
not hear or see. I was terrified but
when she held me I was able to relax. In
her quiet way, she told me how good things were going to be. I knew she was
there and that she would be okay. I
finally just let go. I got sleepy and
then I just left my stupid old and tired body.
I’m brand-new and have found Sadie and Grandpa John and Wolf
and a bunch of friends. Lucy is
here. I get to chase her but she is
still way fast.
Otis: See you soon
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