With This D Ring I Thee Wed...

This post, my friends, is all about Tucker. Tucker is the MAN. He is the namesake of my blog and budding business. A snuggle partner. Couch surfing pal. My heart wrapped up in 56 pounds covered in fur.

When Lucas asked me to marry him, he used Tucker to help him propose. It was only fitting. It isn't that I don't love our other dogs. My love for them is also unquestionable. But Tucker was my first "on-my-own" dog and he and I lived together, by ourselves for awhile. We got each other through some tough times. So as you can tell, he's a special guy. (Not to mention Bpui and Sherman couldn't be trusted to get a ring to me. Tucker obediently came to me when Luke told me to call him. The sweet guy stood in front of me, bedecked in a new collar, shiny ring for me hanging from his D ring. Good boy!) Once we started planning our wedding, the question arose, "do we have any of the dogs at the wedding?" I was not slightly concerned with what people would think- let them think. I knew it was the only wedding I was going to have, and let's face it- we dog people would rather be around our dogs than some people. So people snickering or rolling their eyes was a non-issue. Which canine companions could join us was.

I knew that Bpui would be too much of a handful, bless her little heart. There would be attempts at squirrel chasing, whining, barking. Not to mention the possibility of jumping...mix that with a lace dress and we might have a problem.

Then there was Sherm. Sherman is a) epileptic b)quirky and jerky with his movements and
c)terrible on a lead. Nope, no Sherm.

I felt horrible that they couldn't come, but I also knew Luke and I wouldn't be able to relax if they came. Therefore, Tucker was to do wedding duty alone.

I spent the weeks leading up to the wedding walking through historic Deerfield instead of our usual wooded hikes. After our walk, we would head up the walkway of the main building at Deerfield Academy and up onto the steps where Luke and I were to be wed. Then we would hang out for a while, watching the passers by. I figured if I introduced him to the place where he would need to stand for about a half hour for the wedding, he would be more apt to be calm. (That coupled with a Gentle Leader.)

I had no idea just how wonderful he would be. He behaved as a complete gentleman. He heeled fairly well for my sister-in-law Jess, who kindly took the "Tucker reigns" during the ceremony. He wore his shirt collar and tie with pride. He stood quietly and waited patiently through the ceremony. The photo above is one of my favorites- a quiet moment the photographer captured- my friend Erin reaching back to gently touch the top of Tuckie's head.

My Tucker buddy is one gentle soul. It meant the world to me to have him with us on such a special occasion. Though he doesn't understand the meaning of "standing up for me" at my wedding, it brought me joy to see him standing there with some of the closest women in my life.

He makes my heart soar.

I look forward to the next milestone Lucas and I experience, when I know Tucker will be there, once again, right by my side.

Fostering Frank

Time may or may not heal wounds, but it sure does help ease pain.



I am finally ready to talk about Frankie again. It was too difficult for awhile there- it made me really sad to see photos of him, talk about him, or even think about him.



But here we are about a month later.



At the end of January I received a phone call regarding a special dog in need of a foster home. My response was to jump in the car and rush to the shelter 45 minutes away so I could meet the little fella.

Frankie met me with gusto. The compact nine month old little Pit Bull Terrier was thrilled to spend time with me- injured hip and all. I was told that he was to have FHO surgery to repair his hip, and that we would be fostering him for rehab. I was thrilled to be able to help.



Frank was a love. His favorite thing to do was snuggle. I can think of few things I would like to do more than snuggle with a dog, so we got along swimmingly. His rehab was intense- ice therapy, wet heat therapy, walking therapy, and hands-on physical therapy. Sit to stand therapy. Hill therapy. It required a lot of time, but I was happy to help. I really felt like I was doing something special. I would take Frank outside and we would do our therapy. Then we would come inside and do our indoor therapy. This was followed by crating the little fella and then taking our three dogs out for their walk.



Crating the little fella. This was the difficult part. Frank was to be on complete cage rest. This was nearly impossible. Take an energetic puppy, who is also an active, strong breed, and put the little guy in a crate for the better portion of a day...you can guess how that went. Yikes. Frank did not protest quietly. There were no staged peaceful sit-ins from this guy. There was screaming, screeching, and just a general sense of complete chagrin. He wouldn't- couldn't- take it. My heart broke for him. My heart broke for Tucker, Bpui, Sherman, Agatha and Johnny-No-Home, the resident furballs in our home. More than once I found our dogs and cats hiding somewhere in our home, dander flying. There was moaning, groaning, and howling from all parties. None of the fur babies I share my life with were terribly fond of the loud dog who joined our brood.
So I began to take little Frank out of his crate for supervised free time to keep him at peace. That helped during the day, but lordy, nights....nights were a whole different story. The Frankfurter could not be consoled. I ended up dragging out a futon mattress and sleeping on the living room floor with him. It was the only way he would sleep. There were many sleepless nights, getting up to avoid accidents, getting up to clean up accidents, getting up to soothe a crying puppy. I went to work a walking zombie, concerned mostly by the fact that I had no idea how to ease his anxiety. There were also tiffs with our other dogs. No one was happy. No one was at ease.

I clicker trained, played music, put on a dap collar. And yet.

Nothing seemed to help.



After two and a half weeks, I drove back to the shelter my heart heavy. The foster was supposed to be for six weeks, and I had only helped Frank through two and a half. I stood
in the middle of the shelter foyer, sobbing. The shelter staff told me over and over that I did more than any other foster mamma would have. That it wasn't a failure on my part. That he needed to be in a home with no other animals.

But there was no consoling me. I felt like I was abandoning him.
It was a rough couple of days thereafter.

Later that week, I received a phone call from the shelter, telling me that Frankie was adopted two days after I brought him back. He was brought home by a young couple who have no other pets, and have no plans to get any others.

Ah.

Sigh.

Smile.

Cry.


I recently received a Frankie update. His family is madly in love with him, and his spirit and hip are doing well.


I could bust.


Until next time, when we welcome another four-legged, furry creature who needs us.

Tee Time

There is a very exciting new venture in the works here at little larry & me. We are having tee shirts made! The tee shirts will be made of super soft jersey- that "just-enough-worn-in" looking tee that fits well immediately. Text will be black on a charcoal colored shirt. I am so excited! On front will be our logo, and the text on the back will be a surprise. We will also have canvas tote bags so you can sport your support on your back or over your shoulder. :)

For all of our tee and bag needs we are collaborating with Montague Screen Printing in Montague, Mass. The contacts for this company are Seth and Eva- the most helpful screenprinting folks around. Eva has kindly, patiently, and thoroughly answered every question I have asked. I am not only excited about receiving our finished product, but it is equally exciting to support local.

In other news, I am taking on a rather big, exciting project...more on that later.

collar time

Well hi there and hello. It has been long, hasn't it? Well here we are, back in the saddle, ready to blog all things dog. There is a great deal to catch up on. It is such the occasion that Tucker has dressed up for it. ;)

A lot has gone on since my last post. My creative brain has been "on" and I have been making all sorts of goodies. First and foremost, I have made a dive into the world of handmade collars and leashes. I am thoroughly enjoying this. There are so many beautiful, funky fabrics to choose from. I feel like a kid in a candy shop when I am searching for new prints. I am currently on a mod kick.



All collars are washable. They are made with funky cotton fabric and reinforced with nylon webbing. Collars can be made with either plastic or metal hardware and are an inch in width. I can make them in any size.

I am up to my ears in collars right now. I am preparing for the Flywheel Collective Arts grand reopening in Easthampton on April 18th. I am really excited to have a booth there and I know it will be a fun experience. Drop by and say hello! There will be a dj, and many great vendors- from record sellers to vegan bakers. It should be a great time, hope to see you there!