In Loving Memory of Tigger

I found out yesterday that my dad's dog Tigger died last week. He was about 12 years old and super cute - part chow, part german shepherd part super furry brown bear. He had spent several early years of his life in a kennel thanks to a rescue group who saved him from the pound and was a bit of a grumpy dog until he really mellowed out in his later years. If he liked you, he'd "give you his butt" which meant that if you started petting him on his head and he liked you, he'd turn around and ask you to pet his lower back/butt area. We thought this meant he trusted you. He loved to go out to the backyard, and then back in, and then out again, and then back in again...sometimes I think he did it just to drive whoever was sitting by the screen door crazy! One of the main reasons I got Pig was because of Tigger, so she really should thank him for that. I had always vaguely wanted a dog, but it wasn't until I was home for a long visit and really hung out with him and my dad's other dog Happy, that I realized how rewarding and fun it is to have one. I had also decided to go through a rescue group specifically because of him as well.

So, give your pet (or someone else's pet) a big hug and a piece of cheese (Tigger's favorite snack) on behalf of Tigger today. Despite the fact that they can drive us crazy and break our wallets, they really are great companions and the time that we have with them is just never enough.