Never Underestimate the Four Legged Family Member

Tanner....Tanner, Tanner, Tanner. This guy comes from humble beginnings (Can you tell?). He was marketed to me as an Australian Shepherd rescue, clearly he is not. As a sweet new husband, Blake drove me to Ward, Arkansas to see this so-called Aussie rescue. Blake and I already had one dog. One very nutty dog. An Aussie named Lou. Lou, lovingly dubbed Lucifer by one of our friends, was completely dog poo crazy. She had some social anxiety, she was a total racist, and had a particular affinity for biting Blake's family members. But, she needed a little buddy and after some begging and empty "I promise I'll pick the poop up out of the yard", Blake agreed to get me that sweet little rescue. He already came with a name Tanner, we added Ward as a little joke- one of my best friends, Jill Tanner married Alan Ward, making her Jill Tanner Ward. And when she recently had a bouncing baby boy I asked her if she was going to name him after my dog. I'm sure she gave it some strong consideration, but I'm sorry to tell you Jones, you didn't get named after my loyal beast.


Then Blake left for a month to do a medical school rotation. I called him the first night crying, "I hate this dog! Why did we get this dog?". I can't tell you how many times we called the rescue group, but they never answered or called us back. I can't tell you how happy I am that they didn't.

Tanner has got to be one of the most calm, loving, dopey dogs you'll ever meet. He grins this giant toothy grin every time he sees us, and every time he does something wrong. He's obedient. He's loyal to a fault. And I like to think he's got a pretty good sense of humor.

Tanner also has the unfortunate diagnosis of canine epilepsy. He's had it for a little over a year and he has to take 6 pills a day. His seizures are less frequent now that he's on meds- maybe 1 every month or so.

Tanner is my go to man when something spills on the floor. Like a Roomba, but more effective. He's my nightwatchman when Blake is on call. And some days he's my therapist. Tanner doesn't mind a few tears shed on his soft ears. His calm, loving demeanor reminds me to not sweat the small things and relax.
So, to show my unending love for this goofy hound dog, I'll ramble a few of my favorite Tanner stories....




Puppy Tanner LOVED to go over to our neighbors house. They kept treats for our dogs and were our go to guys when we went out of town or needed some help with the dogs. And I think it was a little like going to your grandparents house- unlimited eat anything you want, stay up as late as you want. They loved it. Tanner loved them so much that one day while we were all gone he slipped under the fence, went in the CAT door, and just spent the day there. And he may or may not (may) have pulled every single one of their pillows out through the CAT door into their backyard...

As above story mentioned, Tanner slipped under the fence quite a lot. On one occasion he seemed to tear a small hole in his side. Oops. Big oops, buddy. Blake is in a surgical residency. This constitutes practice. Nothing a few stitches on the back patio furniture can't fix. Oh, did I leave out lidocane? A real man doesn't need anesthetic.




And some of my fondest memories are of gentle Tanner and my crazy Avery. He loves her. He really has to. He has been her pony, sticker book, patient, and food taster.







I love Tanner so much that I completely forgot his birthday this year and the "If found, please Call" tag on his collar has too many numbers is in. And sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and realize I forgot to feed you dinner. I'm sorry, Tan, you deserve better. But every night, you're there beside my bed waiting patiently for me to remember you're there and hoping I'll give those soft ears a scratch. And every morning you quietly leap on to my feet for a few peaceful minutes before the chaos starts. I know you're just a dog buddy, but your my sweet dog.