Goodbye, Tucker

Tucker as a puppy

For several months now we have been considering finding a new home for our dog, Tucker.   Although, we love him dearly and brought him all the way down to Mexico with us he had a difficult time adjusting to having two kids in the house.  There were no longer enough laps for our little lap-loving fur-ball, and although he adjusted well to having a baby in the house, having a two year old in the house is a whole different story.  Eli and Tucker had a love/hate relationship and fought like naughty siblings.  Tucker would chase Eli around  if there was any food in sight and make his best effort to steal it (often successfully) and Eli in turn would chase and taunt Tucker at whim.  Although Tucker was basically our first child, and a precious companion to the family for six years, we finally decided that it was in everyone’s best interest to try to find him a new home sans toddlers and with plenty of lap space.

Our little hiking companion
In addition, Tucker is probably one of the world’s most allergy ridden dogs.  We got our first taste of this when he was less than a year old and was stung by a bee in our front yard.  Within seconds he had gone into anaphylactic shock - keeled over, throwing up, almost completely rigid, pupils dilated and tongue white.  I sobbed as we rushed him off to the vet, sure that my first “baby” was about to die.  At the vet they hooked him up to an IV and put him on an oxygen mask.  If you have never seen a dog this way, it is a both sad and somewhat humorous sight.  (I pray I never have to see either of my kids this way – there will be no humor in that situation.)  Tucker stayed at the vet over night and the next day we were provided with a prescription for an EpiPen that we were supposed to keep on hand at all times for the dog.  That was only our first taste of Tucker’s allergies…

Later he would develop stomach issues, rashes, and ear infections that eventually led to allergy testing and allergy shots that we had to give him regularly at home.  He’s allergic to poultry, cotton, most types of grass and trees, soy, brewer’s yeast (found in practically all dog food), and sage just to name a few.  With a strict diet, change of bedding, lots of bathing, and the shots we kept his allergies fairly under control in the states.  Then we moved to Mexico, found a dog food and shampoo that worked for him, and he became miraculously healthier.  No more shots and practically no health issues at all.  Before we had our second son we had already determined that Tucker was better off in Mexico and should stay here whenever we move back to the states.

All of this is to say that Tucker has a new home.

Another teacher at Dave’s school has taken him in and seemingly fallen in love with him.  Students at school often come and tell Dave about all of the pictures she has shown them of him. 


Three weeks later Eli still prays for Tucker when he goes to bed and asks about him periodically.  Tucker was certainly part of the family, but this new situation is the best for all of us.  Perhaps it seems silly to write such a long post about a dog, but he was a part of our lives for six years and I though he deserved proper goodbye.  After all, he’s already had two previous posts on the blog: 


Goodbye, Tucker.  Thanks for being part of the family and helping to prepare us for parenthood.

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