In Memory of TANKA

I miss my "Baby Bear". My beloved Tanka was a big lumbering German shepherd. I got him when he was a wee pup only 3 months old, a clumsy lively bundle of energy with short legs and huge paws that he would occasionally trip over just walking across the livingroom. His antics would make us howl with laughter. He loved to play fetch, and would chase a tennis ball for hours if you had enough strength to keep throwing it for him. He grew up to be a good-natured dog, a big goofy giant of a dog, not an ounce of aggression in him. People who knew him wouldn't believe that, his sheer size intimidated many humans, and his penchant for barking at anyone who came near me didn't alieve their fear of him.

We put him through the obedience training, and he learned to be quite civilized in some ways, but in other ways he had a mind of his own. He did not like the word "come". His motto in life was "What's in it for ME?", and often had to be bribed with treats. In spite of a few quirks he was a wonderful companion, always happy to see me when I came in the door. He hogged the lion's share of my bed, averaging 100 pounds throughout his adult life, and wanting his half out of the middle. In spite of my own size I often woke to find myself clinging to the edge of the bed with my feet hanging out in mid-air. I'd have to get up and shift him over, or bribe him over with a treat. He didn't sleep with his head pointed in the same direction as mine. I was faced with a big furry butt by my waist, and feet that would kick me in the backside during the night. Thank heavens he rarely farted! Rare was enough, a couple times a year the aroma would rudely wake me from my sleep. He was never "cuddly". He loved sitting beside me and having his ears stroked and liked being petted, but never liked having an arm around him or being cuddled. His left ear never came up straight, but flopped, and when I talked to him he would turn his head back and forth while he was listening, giving him a really comical look. If you wanted to get his attention REAL quick you just had to say "Cataraqui?" Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area was his absolute favourite place to go, and during the cold months we went there almost daily so that he could sniff his way around the trails. I didn't even have to say it, he was so tuned in to me that I just had to think about taking him, and look at him, and he'd KNOW. He didn't even have to be in the same room, sometimes Dad would look at me, point to the south silently asking me "Going to the park?" I would nod, and 5 seconds later Tanka would come bouncing in the room, staring at us, and then excitedly jump around. Too bad we didn't have some way to document this seemingly doggie ESP.

It's been four months since Tanka got very suddenly and very seriously ill, and I had to face that heart-breakingly painful decision that many pet owners have to face. Dogs don't live near long enough. I'm one of "those" pet owners, you know the kind, the ones that get seriously attached to their critter companions. My life has been made so much richer by having shared my life with Tanka. And Norrie, the Boss Bitch. And Champ, another Boss Bitch. And Chester and Chelsea, the rabbits. Guinness, Guinea, Cinnamon and PeeWee, the guinea pigs. Buster the hamster. Wolf, Fritz, and Esther, German shepherds we had when I was a kid. I miss every single one of them.