Losing Tonka

Tonka

LUCY BURDETTE: Thirteen years ago, we lost our elderly Australian Shepherd, Poco, along with two cats, all within six weeks. John likes animals but can live without pets, so we tried living pet-free for four months. I was miserable. The house felt so empty and lonely. I included a note in our Christmas letter about our missing animals and that same week got a note back from the Australian rescue friend who had arranged for us to adopt Poco. 

“I think I have just the dog for you."

I explained this to John, who could only roll his eyes. 

"She said I could just go meet him, and we could even take him for a trial couple of days."

More eye rolling. He knew better.

On the way home from picking up Tonka, I stopped at John’s office. "Come see what I have out in the car, honey." 

Tonka sat in the passenger seat appearing confused but determined. We never looked back. 

He had been the pick of his litter, destined to be a show dog.

 Here’s what he looked like as a puppy before we knew him, and in his first dog show. Killer cute right? 

But his teeth came in wrong and he turned out to be a little tall for the breed standards, so the breeder needed to find him a home. And we got lucky.

He bonded intensely to me from that first day. Some days John didn’t remember that we had a dog because Tonka was always at my side, under my desk, running errands with me, even doing yoga. 

We considered him something of an ambassador to non-dog lovers. He would find the least dog-loving person at the table and lie at their feet--or on them. He didn’t convert everyone, but lots of people who didn’t love dogs before they met him were enchanted. Hallie, one of those people, described him as "A person in a dog suit."

He always wanted to make the travel team, and he usually did. Of course he made it into my author photo.

He was a a rockstar in Key West, as you can see from this photograph, taken by Hallie's husband Jerry. 



When we walked through the streets of Key West, our guests would be astonished at how often we were stopped so that people could admire him, ask questions about him, and get a dog fix because they missed their own. He put up with the Key West costume scene, including masquerading as a wiener dog in the dachshund parade and wearing a tutu for Fantasyfest.

Oh he wasn't perfect--he had more energy than we knew what to do with. We washed out of agility training because he was afraid of heights. He shook so hard on the balance beam that he fell off--in spite of the hot dog treats ahead. So John ran with him, and I walked. If you stopped to chat with a neighbor on a walk he would spring four feet in the air and nip at you. Time to get a move on, we're walking.

And he was not a fan of children, especially toddlers.

He tolerated the cat only because he had to.

We're comforted by knowing he had gotten uncomfortable and it was kinder to let him go. But I swear I will miss him for the rest of my life. If there really is a rainbow bridge, I'm pretty sure he'll be there waiting...

Have you had an animal friend who left his or her mark on your heart?