RIP Tyke

When I was in 6th grade, my dad bought my sister and I each a Chihuahua puppy. I got a male and named him Tyke. My sister got a female and named her Cocoa. We decided they should get married. We used Barbie and baby doll accessories to dress them up and have a proper wedding ceremony. I wish we had pictures of this. They were the happiest married Chihuahua couple I've ever seen. We decided that they would have one litter of puppies before we spayed Cocoa. My mom wanted a little Tyke. The puppies were born and there was a little black Tyke. My mom named him Harley. Not long after the puppies were born, Cocoa began to act weird. Once we realized she really needed to go to the vet, it was too late. She passed away just as my mom and sister got her to the emergency clinic. This was a very sad time for us all. I felt so bad for my sister. 

Tyke was the saddest of all of us. He moped around for longer than I can remember. He was never quite the same after Cocoa died. He didn't want anything to do with the puppies...or really anyone for quite a while. We ended up keeping a puppy that was the color of Cocoa, but had long hair like Tyke. My sister named her Cheyenne.

Tyke went on to have a pretty tough life.As he got older, he got a little meaner. He never realized how small he was. He tried to fight a pit bull over a large female dog...2 times. Both times he came out with some stitches and other major injuries. He was blind as a result of the second occurrence. Since that second brawl with his big brother, Tyke was blind and Stitch had to find a new home. (Just a side note, Stitch was actually a very sweet dog, my dad still has his sister. Tyke probably attacked him on a daily basis and he would just lay and let him chew on his big lips. Finally, a female was involved and he had had enough. With his size, it didn't take much at all for him to hurt Tyke.) At this point, no one could touch Tyke except my dad. For whatever reason, he was very tolerant of my niece though. I could not even pet him without him trying to chew my fingers off, but she could. It's funny how dogs know to treat the little ones differently.

Tyke turned 12 on Valentine's Day this year. He passed July 1st. Although this is a very sad time for me, it's also a relief to some extent. I could tell that his health was declining each time I saw him. I was worried about my dad. I knew there would come a time when a decision would need to be made, and I didn't think Daddy would be able to make that decision. The last 2 times we visited my dad, I cried when we left. I couldn't tell Daddy, but I told Josh...he just looked pitiful and I hated to see him that way. I missed when he was a feisty little thing running all over the place.

I miss you Tyke Tyke.