Do You Ever Wonder...?

[LauraT7]

"I look at him sometimes, right before we go to sleep, and he curls up next to me, with some part of his body touching mine(because he knows I can't sleep otherwise)...and I think these things...I wonder how he got so smart, I look into his eyes and I KNOW he knows something I don't...he knows ME.

I would give anything to know how I was so blessed to have him. When everything else seems to go wrong, I think to myself, "Well, I have Duncan {Tristan for me} to go home to so God hasn't completely forgotten about me, he sent me an angel and that angel is waiting at home for me and will make me laugh and smile and go on no matter what..."

that was said so beautifully - and is exactly how I felt about my precious Rainbow Bridge boy - Tristan.



Tristan was turned over to a county shelter at about 18 mos because he was "too mouthy and jumpy with our 3 yr old"

the shelter placed Tristan with Golden Rescue, and he was in a foster family and then their shelter facility for SIX months. this amazes me, because he had such charming personality that many of the rescue volunteers loved him and followed our story with him for years after we adopted him.

Why was he passed up for so long? he was a charmer - affectionate, playful and funny. A golden mix - his 'handsome stranger' half was unknown. he had an adorable 't' cowlick on his nose, and a curly coat that looked like a dark golden with a bad trim. Heavy callus' on his elbows and knees told that he may have been kept for a long time in a kennel or hard floor. Tristan may have been neglected, or abused - I don't know. what I do know is that it wasn't in his nature to hold a grudge - he loved everybody and everything!

I figure his long time in rescue had to be because he was destined for us. Tristan fit our family like we were made for each other. "jumpy and mouthy"? no - Tristan simply needed to be a part of a family. once he felt secure in our love, the mouthiness and jumping simply vanished. Tristan was the most gentle, sweet and loving dog.


Tristan making 'new friends' on the trail at Devil's Lake

Easygoing, friendly, and always happy - Tristan made friends wherever he went. And he 'went' everywhere with us - he went car shopping with me the first week we had him - he LOVED car rides and helped me pick out my van. He went on many scout outings and some campouts with us - the boys adored him. He loved water - he'd play in a water dish or the whole lake - it didn't matter to him!

Sadly, we were only granted a short time with our lovable clown - a little over three years. In Sept of 2004 we found he had Lymphoma. Every attempt was made to extend his life with chemo- he responded well - we had a bitter-sweet fall of adventures together. In Dec, however, he relapsed and we could not get a second remission, and he crossed to the Bridge in January 2005. Tristan was only 5 yrs old.

Tristan will always be my heart-dog. And I will always wonder about those first years of his life that I missed, and I will always look for any dog that might have been a littermate, or have a 'spark' of his charming personality, his quirky cowlick, or his laughing golden eyes.

Laura

[jennifert9]

I just found this thread again....I rejoined Pet Talk again after many, many years and Karen was kind enough to restore all my "old" settings since I forgot my password. I have been going through some past posts of mine, reflecting, remembering and looking for old friends...and I came across this...

Brought me to tears. As some of you may know, I had to put Duncan to sleep on 12/16/10 and I still miss him terribly. This thread is bittersweet to me.

Thought it might be nice to bring this back up again as everyone seemed to like it then and I am sure there are new members that would like to post their stories.

I have not been able to bring myself to get another pet yet. However, someday I may have another dog and I hope to be able to have these questions again...let my heart love again. Let adoption and rescue be Duncan's legacy.

[Taz_Zoee]

You do not need counseling because I'm sure there are a bunch of us out there.
I got Taggart when he was also 6 months old and I always wonder what his life was like the first 6 months. I have a feeling it wasn't all that good. He cowers/flinches when you raise your hand above your head. He doesn't like it when we yell (even if its not in anger).
But now (almost 3 years later) he is the goofiest dog I've ever met. He also likes to be touching me when he's on the bed. I just recently tested this. I had my hand over his paw and I slowly moved it off his paw and put it on the bed next to his. Five seconds later he lifted his paw and put it on my hand.

All I do know is he was meant to be our dog. When I first met him at the shelter I squatted down to see him and he laid his head on my leg. That was it. He was mine. I had to wait until the next day to get him and almost didn't make it. Luckily I volunteer at the shelter so the adoption counselor took me abck right away to see him. Another couple was also interested in him, but we beat them to him.


I am so sorry about Duncan. It made reading the original thread very emotional. I'm sure someday when you are ready you will find another dog that will fill that hole in your heart. Not to replace Duncan, of course, but just another pup to love.

[Varga]

I got all teary eyed from reading that original post and then realising when it was written and that Duncan had passed on. I'm so very sorry for your loss. It's very clear that you two loved each other a lot! And even if you didn't know about his past, I'm sure the years you did have together were precious to both of you.

I gotta say I wonder about my Taggart sometimes too. I got him when he was about a year old or so and I know a few things about his previous "home" but obviously I don't know anything about his mother or potential litter mates. I wish I could see a picture of him as a puppy though. He's so darn cute as it is that I'm sure a puppy picture would just be total cuteness overload!

When I got Taggart he was wearing a collar that his previous owners put on him, which was clearly too worn and too old to have just belonged to him. Was the dog who owned the collar before him worth more love than he was, or did they just abandon that dog to a lonely life on a chain too? If they did treat that previous dog the same way... then why did they get another one?? People don't make a lot of sense sometimes.

[kaycountrygal]

I read all the posts for this thread and was dismayed to read that Duncan has passed on. I am sorry for your loss.

I dont know anything about Annie's life before she came here as a stray. The vet thought she was a year old when I took her for a checkup and shots etc. I was going to have her spayed but she found a scar from previous spay.

I've often said to Annie:

Why would anybody spend the money to have you spayed and then throw you away?

Why are you so scared of loud noises, especially thunder and guns?

Why are you so skittish around people, especially men at the beginning? I think she was abused in various ways.

Why did they get rid of such a sweet dog as you are?

Where did you come from?

Why did someone probably bring you out to the country and turn you loose? You must have been so scared and you lived off the land and you were skinny and covered in ticks but luckily you found me.

How could they do that to such a good girl?

Then I tell her she's a good girl and nobody will ever hurt her or throw her away again. A pat on the head or a hug makes her go happy and round and round. She really is a sweet good natured dog.

[wolf_Q]

So sorry to hear about Duncan.

I've had all my dogs except Killer as puppies. But I still wonder what happened to their parents and siblings. After having Nebo for a year I contacted the lady who bred him and went back to visit. Recently before someone had brought back his brother...it was just that pup and Nebo left when I picked Nebo so I remembered seeing him as a pup. As pups he and Nebo looked like twins...it was weird to see how much different they looked at a year old. The brother (Rusty) wasn't neutered and had been an outside dog, his fur was much thicker and ragged looking and he was somewhat aggressive. I don't know what happened to him after that the lady was trying to find him a new home. Another couple years after that when I was looking on petfinder all the time because I wanted another husky I found his parents on there for adoption. I know it was them for sure their names were Kiara and Kovu which aren't super common names plus I had pics that matched their markings. At least they were with a rescue not a kill shelter, hope they found homes.

I have no idea what happened to any of Keva's parents or siblings, the city I got her in isn't really close so it's unlikely I'd run into any of them. I still talk to the lady who gave me Skya her parents are loved and spoiled pups she keeps in contact with at least some of the pups owners too. I ran into one of her siblings at my work one day, at least I'm pretty positive it was he was the same age, close to the same size, and looked just like her except for brown eyes.

Corby got Killer from a guy who was moving out of the country. He had two lab/pit mixes one was a puppy but he had rehomed that one first. Corby doesn't know too much of his history but I believe that guy was his only other owner and the guy let him sleep in his bed at night so he couldn't have had it too bad. I'm glad he didn't end up in the shelter I don't imagine he would have made it out of there being a big black dog and a mix of two of the most common breeds in shelters.

[Alysser]

I am so sorry to see Duncan has passed on. May he rest in peace. The first post was great. I can tell Duncan was loved greatly by you. Hang in there.

I got Mikey from a women who's husband had just died and her kids felt bad and bought him for her. I know he was bought from a pet store originally, however, I really hope his mother and father are not sitting in a crappy puppymill somewhere. As for his siblings, I don't know how much he had or anything like that. I don't really know much about his puppyhood either, I know he wasn't abused or anything, at least not physically. He was stuck in the cage for most of the day and night though, and when we first got him he absolutely HATED his cage. Hated the thought of EVER going in it again. We had to re-crated train him. He now is a good boy and only goes in his cage at night or when there's a thunderstorm coming and we're not home. Usually he stays out, even when we aren't home and he's such a good dog. He's terrified of thunder to. But that's not anyone's fault.

I also wonder if he ever misses his old owner, she was a very sweet lady. I don't think he misses his old lifestyle of always being in his crate, not getting walks, etc. but he might miss her. When I e-mail his owner she never really responds back, which is a shame, because she said she'd love to see pictures of him. I know she was heartbroken having to give him up.

He's the love of my life, I only hope he feels the same!