I see by your website that you made a move from northern Wisconsin. I hope that this finds you settling in and that you are all doing well.

I have been meaning to write to tell you about Tucker. He is a year and a half now and is doing just great!  He is smart, funny, already helpful, handsome and keep life always interesting!

Tucker had a wonderful first year of life learning the basics of being a good dog between swimming, going to college baseball games, hiking trails and getting lots of love!

He began service dog training in earnest in April.  He is doing very well!  We had to work a little on retrieve...only because he only wanted to retrieve his toys for a while!  But he got over that and began to learn to pick up objects even if they weren't toys!  Not thinking, I had him pick up a plastic bottle of baby powder.  It was a consistency of plastic he wasn't used to and he bit into it a little hard. The end popped off and we had a bathroom that looked as though a snowstorm had hit!  Tucker thought it was great fun!  It cleaned up and with practice he now picks up most anything, even a coin, without mishap!

Tucker loves to swim.  He spent some time on vacation with me this year and got to swim and hike on wheelchair friendly trails.  He did well in the motel. 

Tucker does great out in public and seems to have decided that the aisles of the grocery stores and the malls hold great treasures for him to seek! He walks them with tail wagging!  He has taken the ferry with me from Michigan to Wisconsin twice.  He goes to the doctor with me.  He has been to concerts and baseball games.  He has gone to art exhibits and everything from drive through restaurants to very fancy. 

I smile sometimes because people think that he is older than he is...because he behaves so well when we are out!  (Size wise, he is 75 pounds and is sort of tall as Golden's go. His weight right for his size.) As people go on and on about how well behaved and handsome he is...Tucker seems to sit straighter and more quiet!  Then we go home! 

At home, while usually sort of well mannered (and if he is not, it's my fault for not enforcing it!), he will assume his puppy role and chase a ball until it seems your arm will fall off from tossing it.  At that point, the point at which you quit throwing the ball...Tuck makes up games, putting his ball in a bush so it's harder to find or in the house, "burying" it in his blanket or under a rug. 

My favorite thing to watch Tucker do is make his "squeaking bed"...or "happy place" which is what we call his bed! He will get all of his squeaky toys out of the toy box - then drag his bed/happy place out into the living room. He places his squeaky toys under his bed, then rolls on it.  It seems like he laughs when he hears them all squeak.  I do laugh because I think it is funny and because I am amazed at how he thinks to do this! 

I think a service dog can be as much a help in bringing laughter into daily life...as they can with their help in daily tasks!

Tucker opens my Velcro shoes now and braces and pulls my socks off.  He can open the refrigerator and dryer and dishwasher.  Tucker can go under my leg to lift it onto the wheelchair footrest or into the car. He does know how to open the patio door, but this seems to be a task that Greko, my nearly 13 year old golden doesn't want to give up yet...and so Tucker bows out and lets Greko do open that door. 

Greko seems to enjoy Tucker.  The vet and the trainer both think that because Tucker can help with my tasks of daily living, Greko has decided that he does not need to save all of his energy to work.  He and Tucker play tug sometimes.  Other times, Greko will take Tucker's ball away from him and lacking the speed to keep it away from Tucker, Greko will go to a corner and put the ball down and stand there, blocking Tucker's ability to get the ball.  Tucker respecting Greko won't go after it.  But, Tucker does seem to "talk" a lot...and so "talks" to me about Greko having his ball!  This talk isn't barking or whining...it's just Tucker's dog talk...(do ther goldens do this talk?) And so Greko watches Tucker watching him. And listens to him "talk".  Then it seems Greko decides that its more fun to watch Tucker chase the ball than to watch him stand there "talking"...and moves so Tucker can get the ball again.

Sometimes Tucker will "stalk" Greko and jump out at him.  He never bumps him or jumps on him...but just does this to engage Greko in play.  Sometimes Greko lets him play and other times he goes a different path so Tucker can't get to him!

In the mornings and afternoons after eating, Greko and Tucker pick up their bowls to be put away.  Tucker has learned this and many other things from watching Greko.

It has been a joy for me to see Tucker learn and to have him a part of my life.  Greko, who from the moment Tucker came to live with us, seemed happy to have him a part of his life...taught me our hearts can always open to make room for others...people and dogs.  And so it is... that I cannot imagine life without Tucker!

Thank you for your part in choosing Tucker for me.  I don't know how you determined that he was the one that would be able to fulfill the challenge of being a service dog...but you did it and did it right! You obviously have great knowledge of dogs and talent in selecting the right puppy for the job...and the person!

I have included some pictures of Tucker.  I hope that you enjoy them.

Sincerely,
Jeanne Esch