Buck is our November 25, 2012 Pup of the Week

Every pack has a primary barker.  In our pack it’s me.  Occasionally I will let Pocket bark if she has something important to say ~eye roll~ or if I need a break, but, for the most part, when you hear barking from us, it’s me.

I think there are a lot of packs like that.  Tommy barks more than Freddie Girl.  Hattie more than Jackie Lynn.  But that doesn’t mean that the quieter dog is any less loved, it just mean they have a slightly smaller personality (editor’s note from Pocket:  and ego).

When we were first trying out this dog networking thing one of our initial friends was Erin.  Erin knew everything we didn’t know.  There was no one better at explaining how to upload pictures, videos, and design a page than Erin and her Mom.  And she was always open to answer our many questions.

Some of us thought that Erin was an only dog because she was the only one who barked but Erin had a brother Buck.   We didn’t hear much from Buck but Erin would tell tale of him and post a darling picture or two.

It is ironic that Buck was so quiet because it was Erin who first coined the phrase “Freedom to Bark.”  At that time many of us were having problems with the old management at DS because some of our comments were being removed and our private messages were being read.  When we started the Tanner Brigade we borrowed the phrase Freedom to Bark as our motto because we believed if you let dogs bark what they wanted to bark everything would be fine because dogs never bark a bad woof.

As of late, because of the human issues that happens to all our humans from time to time, work, illness, family, the other problems of daily life, Erin and her Mom have not been barking much, but there would be no Tanner Brigade without them, and a lot of what newer members of DS take for granted like when someone teaches them how to post a picture or a video or do a new layout, they should know that many of those doing the teaching today have learned from Buck, Erin, and their Mom.

So the wonderful Mom who gave us the phrase Freedom to Bark bark had a pup who didn’t bark much, but he was loved very much by his Mom and will be missed very much by all of us.

There are lots of different ways to go to the Bridge and none of them are good.  At least for Buck it was fast and he didn’t suffer, nor did his Mom have to spend a lot of money on testing and treatments that failed.  Buck spent a pleasant Thanksgiving with his family but on Saturday he tumbled down the stairs.   He could not stand up, he had no reaction to any touch and had labored breathing.  His Mom made an appointment for the vet but Buck went to the Bridge before she could get him there.  He had made his choice to leave this earthly realm from the home he loved.  As his Mom put on her Facebook page.  “Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

So here is to Buck, who helped create the Freedom to Bark even when he chose not to bark.  And for all the quieter dogs who are strongest in heart and loyalty.  

Erin and Max are our February 26, 2012 pups of the week

We recognize two pups this week.  Two pups who will probably never read this.  Two pups whose Moms won’t be able to read this either.  If a pup of week is recognized in a forest and they aren’t there for the ceremony do they know it?  Doesn’t matter.  When it comes to pups of the week I go by my heart.  

One of these pups you have never (excepting one.)  The other you know well but haven’t seen in a long time.  And I owe tracking them down to the intrepid Hobo Hudson.  If you are unfamiliar with his wonderful writings you can read them here, and his Mom’s columns here.  Both are very informative.

While Hobo is as good a dog who has ever barked a tree we are here to thank him, not to honor him.

The first is the dog we have never met.  His name is Max.  He doesn’t have a computer profile anywhere.  He is Interneterlly homeless.  But when it comes to real homes he is very lucky.  His name is Max and he is the brother of one of our most beloved Bridge friends:  Ladybug.  Since Ladybug went to the Bridge we haven’t heard much from her.  But sometimes these sites are too painful to come to for our Moms after we go to the Bridge.



But Max’s Mom hasn’t been able to get on the computer.  She has had family problems, and she has had bad arthritis.  The kind that keeps are Mom’s off the computer.  The kind that keeps her from all the friends she has made in the social dog world.   I can’t imagine how sad that would make both my Mom and me.  To know that all our friends are just on the other side of that keyboard but not being able to get to them.  My Mommy has bad arthritis in her legs and back.  It hasn’t reached her hands yet.  Sometimes the Bridge separates us from our friends.  Sometimes it’s the pain of Earth that does.  If Max ever reads this I want him to know that I was Ladybug’s friend and even though we haven’t barked, I am his.

Our second Pup we recognize is well known on The Tanner Brigade, in the blogging world, and for those long time members of DS.  She is a German Shepard called Erin and her mother’s named is Donna.  Together they taught many of the older members of DS, and many other dog  bloggers, the ability to design their own pages.  She showed an enormous amount of patience with us bloggers, who weren’t very smart.


It seems to many of us that there wouldn’t be any dog blogging if it wasn’t for Erin.  It’s like she created the entire medium.  She certainly did a lot to improve our blog pages.  Her Freedom to Bark blog is still up here.

She too, because of physical problems has not been able to be on the computer.  Erin not being on the computer is like Michael Jordan not being able to play basketball.  Like Max’s Mom we miss her friendship and her humor.  And I know it is hell for her not to be able to bark at her good friends.

So this is for Max and Erin and their Mom’s.  You are in our heart always and hopefully you will be on our pages soon.  Until then we will keep praying.