A Tribute to Tucker

    It has been over a year since I last posted to my blog, and I hope that my previous followers see this new posting. It is with great sadness that I tell you that my dear dog friend Tucker, has passed from this life.
     Tucker was an incredibly special dog. I am honored that he let me into his life. Followers of my blog got a glimpse of his uniqueness in several of my previous blogs. The 'Tucker' in my book 'A New Life for Runt' is entirely based on the real life Tucker.
     My first encounter with Tucker was when we were first moving to our new home near Pine River. He was out for his daily morning walk with his owners, Steve and Diane. Seeing us by our garage, Tucker took a detour up our driveway to meet the new neighbors. Not knowing if we wanted to be bothered by this big dog, his owners called for him to come back. Ignoring the call of his owners, he happily greeted us.
      Prancing around his new found friends, Tucker glanced over his shoulder at his owners as if he was saying, "Come here and meet my new friends." Introductions were made, and thanks to Tucker, it was the beginning of our beautiful friendship with Diane and Steve.
      Fortunately, the seven years we lived up there we were able to spend a lot of time with Tucker. Unfortunately, since we moved back to Minneapolis in May of last year I have only seen him once.
      Tucker was a large Golden Retriever and I often referred to him as a 'gentle giant'. He turned 14 this past January. The health problems that come with old age finally took its toll on my friend this week.
      There are so many fun stories I could share about Tucker, but for now I just want to say I loved him as if he were my own dog. You will always have a special place in my heart, Tucker.
      Swim on, my friend.

     So long, I'll see you soon!