[Dailydrool] Tucker ATB 01-28-2011

[Mary Lee Trnka]

Tucker came into our lives in June of 1998.  We visited a breeder with a litter of pups and picked him out when he was only 7 1/2 weeks old.  He stayed with his mother and litter-mates until he was 12 weeks old.  When we went to pick him up, my husband noticed that he had a pretty pronounced overbite.  Because of this fault, the breeder said she couldn't sell him, but she would give him to us if we still were willing to take him.  Otherwise, she would probably have to put him down.
 
We were hooked, so we took him home.  His overbite never bothered him.  He ate with gusto, and in his younger days, could catch a tennis ball on the fly.  He was house-trained by the time he was 5 months old, and never made a mistake in the house unless he was sick.  He was an absolute joy, happy and content, a regular basset in every way.  He was a clown, a lover and a gentleman.  He enthusiasticallly accepted cats, kids, other dogs and anybody who came to visit.  He was my son's first puppy.  He was a very healthy dog, except for some dental issues which I'm sure were the result of his overbite.
 
Last fall, we noticed Tucker was really slowing down.  He began dumping his bladder, seeming to be unaware of what happened.  He was having a harder time getting around, even having an episode when his back legs just didn't work for about 4 hours. The next day he seemed fine.  Our vet ordered an x-ray of his spine, which revealed nothing unusual.
 
Last Sunday, Tucker had what I believe was a psychomotor seizure.  He began to run around the house frantically, barking, and eventually urinating while he was running around.  He had three of these episodes in less than 24 hours.  Between seizures, we saw our vet, who prescribed phenobarbitol.  We began the meds Monday night.
 
The meds controlled the seizures, but made him very wobbly.  He also whined a lot. We lowered the dose, but he got more wobbly.  As he walked, his back legs would often collapse, and he would walk anyway, dragging his back end. Thursday night, he was standing in the kitchen, tried to move, and all four of his legs went out from underneath him.  Also that evening, while my husband & I sat in the kitchen eating, he sat between us crying constantly, and looking just miserable - confused, distressed, unhappy.  I left a message with the vet to call me in the morning. 
 
When the vet called Friday morning, I just said, "It's time."  This man has been our vet for about 25 years.  He is a jewel. He came over, talked with us, and sent our precious pup on to a better place.  We stayed with Tucker, petting him and talking to him as he went on his journey. 
 
Thank you, Tucker, for loving us with your whole being.  
 
Mary Lee 		 	   		  
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