Tigger Louise is in Doggy Heaven.

Tigger Louise

Age 11, March 11, 1998 - March 24, 2009

You left paw prints on our hearts

Nickname: t-t, tigtig, squee

Just before Christmas in 1999, my boyfriend's sister got Tigger back from a friend that could no longer keep her. Michelle was in the process of moving and couldn't take Tigger right then. So she asked me if I would keep Tig until she got settled. Naturally I said yes. When I left the house, I said "let's go Tig" and she jumped up and followed me to my car, hopped in when I opened the door and made herself at home. When 2 weeks was up, Michelle stopped by to pick Tigger up and when she called her to go, Tigger came running to me and got in my lap. That was pretty much it, Michelle couldn't bring herself to take her. So here we are almost 10 years later and Tigger was the absolute best dog anyone could ask for. She wasn't just a pet, she was family, my baby girl and my best friend. When I met my husband, the very first time he came over to pick me up for our date, Tigger climbed over the back of the couch to get around me so she could sit with him. I always teased him about 'stealing' my dog. Tigger basically went everywhere with me. I was a nanny for quite a number of years, so she was allowed to go to work with me. We were together almost 24/7. And I never had to use a leash either, she was so good and stayed right by my side.

A few months ago, probably around January, we noticed that she was getting slower, not eating as much and drinking a lot of water. At first we didn't think too much of it, as she was almost 11. But then she started coughing, getting sick after she ate and on March 21 she had the worst day. She couldn't breath, she couldn't sleep and she was exhausted. The next day she seemed to be a bit better and I found a way to make her comfortable on pillows. We took her to the doctor on the 24th and she started taking x-rays. But after the first one, she saw that there was no point in continuing. Tigger had a huge mass in her chest that was pushing on her esophagus and her lungs were pretty much gone. The doctor gave her 24-48 hours to live and told us that she's most likely suffer if allowed to go home. That was the worst day, having to make the decision, but she was my best friend and deserved to go peacefully. I held her head as the doctor gave her the shot...and that was it, she was gone. That was just over three weeks ago and I'm still having a hard time without her. We do have 3 other doxies and they provide comic relief, but my life will never be the same without my tigtig.