My Heart

This is my old man, my heart and soul. I got Tigger when he was 6 months old. He has been with me for over 14 years. I remember looking at his cute little face wen I was bringing him home and thinking that this was the face I was going to see every day for the next ten years. I never imagined that I would have him this long. We have had a quite a journey together and he has seen me through many hardships and challenges. He has never left my side. I think that every dog has a lesson to teach and his is loyalty. He has outlived all expectations. The greyhound lifespan is typically 10-12 years. Yet here he is.

He had a ciliary body adenoma in his right eye about four years ago. We took the eye out when the tumor started to cause him discomfort. He was already blind in that eye from the tumor so it wasn't a big deal. But it did take some time to get used to his permanent wink.

This is a picture of him with his favorite toy, his Ty ball. He still loves to come "running" into the living room to attack it. He also likes to use it for a pillow.


Other than that, he has had very few health problems. He does have arthritis and is getting pretty crippled in the rear. He has lost most of his muscle mass. I took him for a walk around the block tonight and some folks in their yard stopped what they were doing and watched us walk past. I wonder, did they think I was starving him? Did they think that there was something wrong with him? Or, did they recognize that a grand old gentleman was passing and did he perhaps remind them of some other grand older dog that had graced their lives?



For his age, he looks great! He is alert and curious. He still likes to carry his frisbee around the yard, I just don't throw it anymore. He still wants to be trained. I sometimes send him through the jump uprights with the bars down and then tell him what a great dog he is. He will come to heel, I just don't expect him to sit. He does his nose touches and grins whenever he hears the clicker. He makes me smile every day.