Tator (aka Francesca Elizabeth)

We have two live pets in our house. I don't count Nathan's fish as pets, they are just decorations. Both of our "real" pets are dogs. The oldest dog is Tator, aka Francesca Elizabeth. The other dog is Bailey and she is an entirely different post.

Tator is a Siberian Husky with a fantastic blood line, not that her blood line was important to us when we picked her out. The things that struck us when we met her were the facts that she was the most beautiful dog I had ever seen, and all she wanted to do was snuggle in my lap. Cute and cuddly...what else mattered?

We brought Tator home almost fourteen years ago. We had somehow lost our dog naming abilities after we picked her out, so she spent several weeks being called "Hey Puppy!" We knew we wanted a fun, dog type name and we also wanted a second, more regal name on her official papers (to be respectful of her blood line). The regal name was much easier for us to come up with. She is partially named after my sister and the other part was just a fancy name I liked :) It was mid-winter when I scooped her up to bring her outside for her nightly outdoor task when we were struck with her name:

Me: "She's like a sack of potatoes!"

Nathan: "Hey, let's call her Tator."

Me: "Okay, Tator is a pretty cool name and it's way better then 'hey puppy'."

So began our years with Tator. Her puppy years were fun. She stayed true to being the cute and cuddly puppy I picked out. Her "teen" years were a mess. Tator decided she didn't like me and *clearly* had it in for me. Nathan would leave the house and Tator would be mean to me. Granted I am a bit on the sensitive side, but I still felt threatened. Soon after the teen years she realized I wasn't going anywhere and we ended up with a respectful agreement. I would feed her, take her places, keep her groomed, clean up after her, and bring her to the vet. She would let me live in her house and sleep with her mate.

There are so many stories I could tell you about her I would consider writing a book, but this is only a blog and the point of this blog is to say out loud that she is old and she's not feeling well. The average life expectancy of a Siberian Husky is 10-14 years. We're lucky that we've had 14 eventful and wonderful years with her, but I am sad that I see it coming to an end.

Besides suffering from "old-age", Tator is suffering from arthritis of the hips. To help her with her pain and mobility we give her an anti-inflammatory medicine. The anti-inflammatory meds will cause damage to her liver. To off set the damage to the liver we are trying things like plain yogurt and cottage cheese. Her stomach has become even more sensitive these days so we also give her pro-biotics. I feel like we are constantly taping her together with one band-aid or another. Some people may understand this and some won't. I'm okay with that.

Over the last year she has had more and more series of tummy discomfort. She has been spending lengthy times being restless and agitated, but then recovering and seeming fine again. Each time we head into an episode I wonder if this will be the last? How many more times can we all do this? How many more sleepless nights can we all take? Is she hurting? Is she sad?

As she spent today outside, by herself, in the yard, unwilling to come in... I miss her already. I'd go out there and stroke her bony body and hope that she feels better soon. You see, I'm not ready to let her go yet. I'm not ready to have less dog hair on my floors, on my furniture, on my clothes, or in my food. I'm not ready to have more freedom and more money.

I am not ready to be a one dog family.

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Updated 1/15/2010

Francesca Elizabeth will be resting peacefully today.  We are preparing our good-byes, going through our photos and memories, and showing her that we will always love her.