His owner, "Coach" Richard Dispenza, had lived in our neighborhood since before we bought our home, 11 years ago. Coach died suddenly on Sunday.
Coach was in Utah at the time, and Tucker was in a kennel in Woodland Park. No one knew where Tucker was, but the neighbors rallied, and tracked him down. Of course we took him. Because really, once you have two small boys and two large dogs, what more harm can be done?
We went straight to Wag-N-Wash, owned by my friends Jef and Dan. I've been taking Artichoke there since 1999, when we moved to Colorado and Wag-N-Wash was just one store on Uintah. The boys picked out a new collar for Tucker, with a matching tag just in case he got out of our yard. They also got him a few toys, which have since been shredded in my living room. With the help of Dan's staff, we spent an hour and a half washing Tucker and combing out matted fur.
He's gorgeous.
No less than six people stopped by the house yesterday afternoon, thanking me for taking Tucker, especially considering what a handful he's always been for Coach. They have no idea.
We are the lucky ones.
Other than a few manners, which we're working on in 5-minute increments, Tucker is a great dog. And despite spending the majority if his time tied to a tree while Coach was at work, Tucker understands that he has to work within the ranks. He learned this morning to sit while everyone else went through the door ahead of him (a necessity in a house where the youngest creature is a 4-year-old boy and the oldest - apart from management - is a 14-year-old dog who could be blown away in a stout breeze).
He spent today with five (FIVE!) children under the age of 7, all of whom wanted to take turns combing Tucker, and walking Tucker on a leash, and making Tucker sit, and teaching Tucker to ride a scooter.
This dog is a freaking saint.
By the end of the day, the old dogs were passed out on the couch with Mom. Tucker was sitting in front of the boys' bedroom door, wondering why they went to bed without him.
If you're in the market for a dog who needs nothing more than love, some good food and a little patience, Tucker might just be yours.
If all that is too much to ask, he may just need to be ours.
