Tucker

As most of you know, I have the sweetest and most amazing dog in the world! Ok, ok so maybe he barks at everyone and everything, and he bites feet (what can i say, he just doesn't like feet), and he occasionally forgets that he is supposed to use the bathroom outside, but that doesn't mean that he is not the world's best dog! Tucker touched my life from the first time i laid eyes on him. When i was in college (my junior year) I was a nanny for a family close by. I use to take the kids to the pet store every week to let them play with the animals, because i always felt bad for the little guys that had to be in the cages all day. One day we went in and they had just gotten some new puppies. I walked over to the glass window and saw the cutest animal i had ever seen in my life. He was about a pound soaking wet. His legs were maybe an inch off the ground, and he had the cutest pink nose i had ever seen. It was literally love at first sight. I got him out and played with him, and decided that he had to be mine and i had to have him that instant. All $700 dollars worth of him! YIKES! I was a junior in college, and had no where near 700 dollars in my banking account, i probably had no where near 7 dollars in my banking account, so i decided to take out a loan. Yup, you read it right.....a LOAN for a dog. Have you ever heard of such? Well, whatever i had to do, it was well worth it. He was mine, and that day changed my life. I took him home to my roommates, who were gracious to let us both live there. I named him Spike. He was the cutest dog in the world, I thought he needed a tough name so people didn't think they could push him around (little did i know his little personality wouldn't allow for people to push him around). I took him everywhere with me. He was my fury child. I am not saying that he didn't get on my nerves sometimes (peeing on the floor, chewing up my shoes, crying at night, having to be placed on the couch because he refused to jump, etc.), but he relied on my and there is something about being responsible for a life. After two and a half years, I finally paid off my dog. Did I forget to mention, that Spike became Tucker about a week after I got him? He became a dog with three names Tucker Spike Whitten. I felt his personality needed a name as sweet as he was. But more recently Tucker went from three names to four.... because we got married. Yes, i said we..... you marry me, you marry my dog. Trammel was well aware of this and has adopted our sweet child. Our child's name is now Tucker Spike Whitten Hoehn

Tucker (a.k.a pooper, booty, bubba do, love monkey, tuck tuck) is now 5 and a half. There is something about having a dog that makes your life a little sweeter, and a little bit easier everyday. He is ALWAYS happy to see me (unless he has done one of the unmentionables from the first paragraph), and has caught many a tear from my face. He is such a huge part of my life, and I can't imagine a day without him. That is why when i heard about Tucker's tumor last week, I almost lost it. I couldn't imagine a life where Tucker doesn't exist. I mean, i have gone without seeing Tucker before when i have had to leave him with my mom for a little while or when i went on vacations and such, but this was different. I life where Tucker didn't exist was to hard to imagine, it was almost unfathomable. The doctor told us that Tucker had a mast cell tumor and that he needed to have it removed immediately. I was willing to do anything. That day we drove home from the vet and I just couldn't stop crying. I didn't want to let Tucker out of my sight. I kept thinking to myself that it was too soon. He hadn't lived the long life that I had always promised him, he hadn't gotten a chance to meet my future children. Things that I feel like have always been pictures of my future. Bringing home a little baby from the hospital and watching Tucker sniff the carseat, watching Tucker run and bark at a crawling child, Tucker sleeping with a toddler in their new big kid bed. All things i wanted for my life and I felt they were slipping away. We scheduled Tucker's surgery for four days later, and it was a long four days, but it did not compare to the four days after the surgery that we had to wait to find out if the tumor had spread or if it was benign. If it was cancer and had spread, i was preparing myself and my wallet for the long road that i was sure i was going to go through. Radiation, Chemo, all of that seemed like it was the only option. Money didn't matter. I am sure Trammel would disagree, but all i could think about was keeping my baby for a little bit longer. On Saturday (four days after the surgery), the vet called to let us know that the results had come back and the tumor was benign. Tucker was perfect! I was so happy (so was Trammel), it was hard to express it in words. The feeling was just such a feeling of relief. I was relieved that i didn't have to put Tucker through such hard times. I was relieved that i didn't have to make the decision between my dogs life and what we could afford. I was relieved that all of the pictures in my head about my future are all still possible. Like i said earlier, Tucker has changed my life in such a way that it is too hard to imagine my life without him. I am so glad i don't have to worry about that right now....

Here are a few pictures of Tucker's surgery. This is his scar from where they removed the tumor

This is a picture of Tucker's neck after surgery. They had to draw blood from this area, and Tucker didn't respond well to the needle