Frankie and Slim

Frankie and Slim
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Friday, October 12, 2012

ONE OF THE FAMILY

My sister and bil's dog Tikka died Wednesday evening.  She was 17 years old.  (Actually one month short of 17).  While she was my sister's beloved pet, she was  my bil's best friend and fishing buddy.  Tikka was a loyal family member.  Our parents loved this grand-dog and Tikka spent many hours visiting our mother in her retirement facility.  All of the children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends loved Tikka who, like Will Rogers, never met a man (woman or child) she didn't like.  

Our family mural holds the sketches done by family members grouped by age, starting with the oldest which would have been Tikka who was around 90 in dog years at the time.
Tikka's paw print in ink.
Tikka loved the woods in the back of their house and enjoyed many a picnic in her 17 years. ( In the following photo know that the beer was not for Tikka or the granddaughter:)
Tikka and Nora on a picnic,
I can picture Tikka now resting peacefully at our mother's feet.
R.I.P.. Tikka
1995 - 2012

28 comments:

  1. My sympathies on the loss of your beloved Tikka. Our pets are part of the family and we mourn them much the same way.

    *Hugs*

    Di

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  2. I know how it feels to lose a beloved pet. Tikka looked like a dog my son had once, named Cayce. She was the best dog ever; especially good with children. Tikka was like that too, I bet. Sorry for your loss.

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  3. Loosing a Best Fried is so painful.

    I am sorry for your familys loss.

    RIP Tikka

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  4. I'm so sorry. I know exactly how everyone feels. We had to put our sweet Neesha to sleep on Wednesday and my heart is broken. Steve's heart is broken.

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  5. These pets do twine themselves around our hearts and become some of our best memories. When they depart we have a big emptiness for years and years.

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  6. Tikka was a very handsome guy. You so well expressed what he meant to your family. I am so sorry for your loss.

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  7. Diane@Diane's Place -- I see you on Facebook now but had lost your blog. Thanks for commenting. As I said in my title, Tikka was one of the family.

    kenju -- Was Cayce a yellow lab too? Tikka was such a gentle giant.

    Sonny -- I do not see how my sister and bil can bear this. Tikka has been like their child for a long time.

    Marla and Steve -- I had read your blog comment about your Neesha and it sounded exactly like what my sis and bil were dealing with. I am so sorry for you both. They had to put Tikka to sleep for the same reasons.

    Tabor -- Excellent expressions, "twine themselves around our hearts". This was a hard thing to lose a dog-niece so I don't know what I would do to lose my Slim.

    Jeanie -- Handsome girl:) She was a beautiful and stalwart dog and she exuded much love.

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  8. My sympathy to the whole family. Back in January I had to put two down at the same time....Baxter, one of our basset hounds and Princess, a lab/chow mix. Princess was as old as Tikka and I have no idea how old Baxter was as he was abandoned and we took him in and had him for about 3 years. We have another coming up on 12 years and he is going to be a hard one to lose as we've had him the whole time. Big hugs to everyone.

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  9. Oh - I'm sorry. Tikka was a fine friend, looks like.

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  10. A fond farewell to your doggy niece. I am impressed with her artwork!

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  11. When they say our pets leave paw prints on our hearts, they weren't kidding.

    Tikka sounds like one heck of a good dog and, from your post, it sounds like she lived a good, long life.

    RIP Tikka

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  12. A lovely tribute to what had to be a truly fantastic friend and companion.

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  13. It's not fair that we become so attached to them yet they can't live as long as we do. We're destined to go through this many times.

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  14. i know well of this kind of loss - my Cat companions of 18 years passed while i was in the hospital - no one wanted to tell me, but i knew....condolenses are in order and yes at your mom's feet, waiting.

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  15. So sorry for this time....

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  16. Sounds like such a sweet dog. I'm so sorry for your loss. It's tough when good, loyal pets are no longer with us. I still miss my Barkley and Tabitha. Hugs from Miami... ♥

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  17. Hugs! When I lost our 20-year-old cat (the vet said that was 92 in human years), I was still so sad. Good pets are indeed family members.

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  18. It's so sad when a beloved pet dies, but what a blessing to have had Tikka for so long. I'm sure you have many precious pictures and memories of her interacting with your family members.

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  19. It's incredibly difficult to lose a beloved pet. I've heard some people say that it's harder than losing a family member. I think that's because you usually have had some conflicts or differences with family members, whereas pets . . . it's just such an unconditional love.

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  20. I am so sorry for the loss of your Tikka. She was a beautiful yellow Lab.

    We lost our Ziggy last year and while our whole family mourned, the cats at their place were really in distress.

    Ziggy lived with my niece and her husband on their small farm and,like you, they had "barn cats" who lived there too.

    Ziggy had a nice house with lots of blankets and straw to keep him warm and every night the cats would come and snuggle in with him.
    They all kept each other warm.

    When Ziggy died the cats kept coming around meowing for him and they wouldn't go into his house without him.

    My niece went to the SPCA and adopted two more dogs (The kids couldn't make up their mind between them so they took them both). They are named Ann and Dan and the kitties have come to accept them.

    This will be their first Winter together and we are all waiting to see how they get along snuggling in the cold.

    Tell your Sister and BIL that we know how they feel and send our warmest regards to them.

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  21. Bonnie -- It seem like you have had a lot of sadness with your pets recently.

    Lynn -- Tikka was such a good dog. It is funny how connected the entire family was to her.

    Sparkling Red -- Yes, she was a bit of a Van Gogh.

    Cube -- For a lab that large, 17 years was a very long time. Most of that time she was in good health.

    G.B. Miller -- It is strange to pay such tribute to my sister's pet, but we all kind of claimed Tikka as our own.

    Cliff -- You sure said it. Even though we know we will normally out last our pets, we keep adopting new ones into our home.

    Whitemist -- Oh how sad. 18 years is a long life and I'm betting your cat had a good life as well.

    Changes in the wind -- I can' t remember, do you and the cowboy have any pets?

    Scarlet -- I believe in our blog circle members are all pet lovers. Wonder if there is any group of people who are fond of each other because they all DO NOT'like animals?

    Riot Kitty -- Oh boy, that had to be tough. My daughter will never forget our 17 year old cat dying in her arms.

    Pat MacKenzie -- Tikka is in almost every family photo. If my sister and bil attended the get-together, Tikka was there too.

    Susan Adcox -- What an excellent point. That is so right, that our pets give us unconditional love.

    Nancy -- She was a beautiful yellow lab. Sad about Ziggy and will want to hear how Ann and Dan manage to charm and warm the cats. I do not know any other animals named "Ann" so that is exciting too.

    ashok -- Yes it is so sad.

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  22. Apparently I'm late to the memorial-
    Sorry you lost your canine niece, such a golden family member. The longer the animal lives, the smarter they become plus the more we love them!
    I've had favorite friend cats who lived 20, 19, n 16 years. It was like losing a long-time best friend in each case. Animal, but family, part of every day life. Bonded together- Much love built up over so many years. Truelly wonderful to know that feeling- Truelly horrible to lose them!
    Glad you have Tikka's paw-print to treasure.
    Hope you can heal your grief soon.

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  23. Snaggle Tooth -- Last but not least. Very nice words. I do believe that everyone is resolved to the fact that Tikka is much better off and certainly was trying to survive beyond her pain. Can't help but wonder what some pets would do if they could make Living Wills.

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  24. Hello again Annie ~~ So very sorry about the loss of the much loved Tikka. She must have been showing signs of her age, so now is resting in peace. Love, Merle.

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  25. So sorry for the passing of Tikka.... :'(

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  26. RIP in doggie Heaven Tikka.

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  27. Merle -- She was showing painful signs of aging and the decision to have Tikka put to sleep was very difficult for my sis and bil. They knew it was time but that didn't make it any easier.

    Shionge -- Thank you:)

    Pat -- Thank you:)

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