The Story of Me ...

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving, everyone! It's me, Tucker!

Let me start out by first thanking my new pal, Pip for alerting us to Minna Krebbs' The Story of Me contest. 

I think the timing of this contest is particularly apropos, since it was almost exactly seven years ago that I became part of my family.  At the time, the family in question was my mom and my brother, Dakotah.  Dakotah isn't with us anymore, and now I have all these little brothers and sisters to look after.  Although Olivia and I are pretty close in age, and she does help me a little bit with keeping everyone in line.  Anyway ...

THE STORY OF ME

Like that of many rescued dogs, my story has something of a sad beginning.  When Mom found me, I was only about ten months old, and had been abandoned by my previous people.  Who can say why those people decided not to keep me?  I don't even really remember them.  But I do remember that for months after I came to live with Mom, I would whimper and shiver and shake in my sleep, and even when I was awake I would sometimes get really scared and go hide under the bed.  I never hid from Mom, though ... she and I bonded instantly, and even though at first I could hardly believe it, it was soon clear to me that Mom loved me an almost insane amount.  She just could not get enough of how adorable and sweet and good natured and well-behaved I was (and still am).  As for my part, it's hard not to love someone who loves you so much ... and wants to spend almost all their time spoiling you and making goo-goo eyes at you.  I figured out pretty quickly that my luck had definitely changed for the better, and I decided I was going to do whatever it took to make sure Mom would never want to ditch me like those other people did.  As if!  So yeah - call me a mama's boy if you want - I don't care. 

Now, another thing about my story is that when Mom & I got together, I was in rough shape.  Even though I am a Chinese Crested (which Mom didn't know at the time - she thought I was some sort of terrier mix - but I knew what I was the whole time), which of course is a hairless breed, I am a Powderpuff, which means I am supposed to have hair.  But back when I first came to live with Mom, most of my hairs were missing.  I didn't have hardly any hair on my body, and basically none at all on my legs and feet.  And they were all red and scaly and itchy.  So when I first came home with Mom, I had to wear boots like this: Muttluks at  night so that Mom could put this special ointment on my feet to try to heal them up.  That took awhile, and they sure were sore.  But with time and lots of pampering and love I healed up and became the handsome guy I am today.

Over the past seven years, I've been pretty busy.  I joined The Dog Training Club Of Tampa Bay , where I've participated in agility training and taken (and passed) my Canine Good Citizen Test (or CGC).  I have also gotten certified for therapy dog work with Therapy Dogs International and volunteered in the cardiac unit of a local hospital. Of course, I've also had a lot of fun, and I enjoy doing just regular dog stuff, like going for walks, going to the dog park, and dining al fresco at one of Tampa's many dog-friendly establishments.

It's a pretty good life - and all in all I have a lot to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thanks for reading my story!