The Loss of two Best Friends

Buster: Feb 28th 2011
Buster, my Labrador/Pit Bull Terrier mix, died tonight at 7:40 pm. He was 9 days short of 13 years old.

Buster was abandoned as a puppy, but took to the family quickly. He was the best friend I have ever had, by my side through surgeries, divorces, and foreclosure; living between homes and between jobs, moving between states. He let our cats beat him up but chased away unfamiliar ones, once mercilessly licked a hamster when it got out of its ball; let my daughter ride him like a horse and let my son climb him like a jungle gym with curiosity only. He was too loud, too loving, ate too much, played too hard, never whined even in severe pain, eternally loved everyone who ever loved him, and smiled every single day that I came home to him.

Tigger: March 26th, 2011
Tigger was a border collie / shepherd mix, at least that is what we believe. He was 15 yrs + in age, an old man you man say. For as long as I have knew Tigger he was an amazing dog, one of the best dogs a person could ask for. You could classify tigger as man's best friend, although he preferred female companionship, and a guardian. Tigger was the house protector, always making sure things were alright. He would always keep the cats in line, and even married a cat, and if you took him to the dog park he would keep the bullies of the dog park in check. In his old age he develop tumors, we would take him to the vet to get them checked and they would say no worries they are just fatty. Well now it seems that those fatty tumors turned into cancer. In the last month he became sicker and weaker. He developed a head tilt, which we thought was from an ear infection. Even with his body tilted and unable to walk he would still follow me around (which was hard if I was cleaning). He then developed an infection in his paws. Things got bad and he became weaker. He wanted to stay with us till the end. We tried our hardest to give him antibotics, but it wasn't working. The cancer had made him to weak to fight. Tigger passed while I was at work, but he never gave up fighting in the end. It still amazes me how a dog just months ago was up walking around chasing other dogs around could change so quickly. Looking back Tigger at that point was probably already sufferring, but he would never let you know. He was a proud dog, a tough dog (sometimes stubborn),a guardian, and a best friend.

I don't know what happens to animals after they pass, if there is an animal heaven or not. But I hope that if there is both Tigger and Buster know that they were loved and we did all we could for them.

Rest in Peace our good friends.