Although we lost our beloved Kyra in 2005 and recently as of a month ago, lost our gentle giant, Tucker, I would like to share a moment of how each of them became ours. First off, Bob and I were outside by the pool when our son came home with a bulge in his jacket. At that time we had 2 cats and a rescue dog. I, of course, asked him what was under his jacket and he said "nothing" but I knew better and told him whatever he had, take it back, we had enough pets. Well, that wouldn't sit with him so out from under the jacket came this iddy bitty teeny tiny puppy that he held in one hand. He put her down and if she weighed 3 pounds, she weighed a lot, she came running sideways to Bob, bypassing me,I guess in hopes she would find this to be her new home. Of course, Bob took a liking to her and her to him but I said if they wanted her, she would have to be kept outside so both volunteered to build a dog house, which turned out to be a condominium that I could fit it. Had insulation, a shingled roof, siding, flooring, all the comforts of home. Did Kyra ever go in her "new home", absolutely not, she was the new princess of the Strauch family and remained that for all her 14 1/2 years of her life. She was the most gracious young lady you would want. She loved going for walks, rolling in the thick, plus grass, sitting on the steps of our IG Pool and once in a while, she would swim to the diving board but she basically "sunned" herself on the steps. She enjoyed playing ball and tug o'war with her cousin, Nikki, and just loved being around everyone and as much as she was loved by all, she loved tenfold back. When she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in February 2005, it didn't stop her from attempting everything she could. It got harder and harder for her to get up and go out, walk or just about any type of extra movement..the tumor was in the motor portion of her brain...but she kept going until it got where she just couldnt any longer..that was the day my world stopped..October 31, 2005. To this day, my love for her is just as deep as the day she was brought to our house and forever and ever, she will be in my heart. Then 2 years later, our gentle giant, Tucker, who was our son's dog, came to live with us..he was only a bit over a year old and as large as he was, that's how gentle he was. He loved everyone, especially Kyra and cousin Nikki. They all ran together, played together and Tucker now became our dog, no longer was he our son's dog. When Bob Jr. got married, we told him if he wanted to take Tucker to his home, he could. Well, Tucker had other plans...and they were not plans to live with his "master"...no way. Although Bobby took him to his house, Tucker barked, cried and howled continually until Bobby brought him back home. Tucker, like Kyra and the others, was spoiled beyond belief. Since all our children were now married and gone, the furries became our "children" and we loved every second of it. They went in the car, they went for walks, they just went everywhere with us. When we decided to retire and move, we again offered Tucker to Bobby...forget it, Tucker would have no part of it whatsoever, so, he along with Kyra and Angel and Sambucca moved down to Virginia from New Jersey to begin their lives all over again. They became well-adjusted to their new environment and both dogs and both kitties enjoyed their pampered lives right to their passing. I'm sure anyone that reads this story probably has heard it many times elsewhere, but I must say, our love for animals and especially these guys were our life. When Kyra and Tucker were 10 and 12, we knew they were getting on in years and the thought of losing them sometime later on was devastating, so to try and make that a bit easier, we got littermates/sisters, Abby and Ebony, both Black Labs, who are now 4 years old. At first, neither Kyra nor Tucker or the kitties wanted either of them..they all felt the invasion of the "monsters" were in their house so between Kyra's growing, Tucker's growling and barking and the kitties' hissing, the two puppies didn't stand a chance but they hung in there and after a few weeks, it was the happiest time of all their lives...the puppies loved Kyra and Tucker, would kiss them, wash their faces, lay down amongst the two of them, swim together, run together and basically, did everything together til the end. Right now, if we ask either one where Kyra and Tucker are, they'll run to their water bowls and then look around the house as if to find them so they can wash their faces and kiss them, because that's exactly what they did when both Kyra and Tucker were alive. This is my story and I am so priviledged to be able to tell my feelings about my animals to all the animal lovers that will read this. Happiness and Love are a wet nose and four paws. Thank you everyone from the bottom of my heart.