Aw man! I don't even know what to say. Life on this planet is just not going to be the same now that Tucker is gone as well. For those of you who don't know, Tucker was Lily's big brother (in size and not actually related) and a best friend to Cristin Dwyer, Matt Natti, and then Carly Dwyer and Sean Metzler who had been taking care of the Bubbas (as they were called) since Matt and Cristin have been away. Both Tucker and Lily were two of the greatest dogs I have ever had the pleasure of being slobbered on by. Lily's passing was tragic indeed, and I think it probably took a toll on Tucker as well... and now he is gone, leaving this world one awesome dog less.

The thing I liked most about Tucker was that he was always kind of the big goofy one... always super curious and generally just blundering through things to get to the good parts. It was very endearing. He was very obedient as well, and would always come when called. And he was just about as friendly as a dog can be. But watch that tongue! He somehow managed to derive an endless amount of saliva which he nearly always felt you should share with him :)

I have to say that one of the sweetest moments and memories I have of Tucker didn't involve me in the slightest, other than the fact that I was there to witness it. It was when, last year, Matt had come back from New Zealand, where he had been for a good year. Tucker was living with Sean and Carly, and we headed over there after a night on the town. We all walked in single file and Tucker was there to greet us. When he saw us, he looked rather unenthused and started to walk away. But then Matt came through the door and stood there, hands on hips, and in his best bubbaspeak, he commanded "Tuck, COME!" It was almost cartoonish the way Tucker just froze, turned around and saw Matt and sprang to him tongue extended in order to give his long lost Matt-Matt a heap of "I missed you" kisses. I have NEVER seen a dog that happy before and I imagine that if dogs cry, he was crying tears of joy. It was beautiful. He was such a good dog.

Of course, there were other nuances to Tucker that we all loved - the fact that he let me put my antennae on him and walke around all day with them on, the fact that he was cross-gender, cross-species, in the closet kind of gay - as evidenced by his strange and sweet love for male cats (and why Cristin got him a rainbow collar), the fact that he was used as a horse a couple of times, that he put up with Lily better than any human, that he was the qunitessential big brother and always watched out for his loved ones, the fact that when all else failed, he went and found himself a shady little spot at Holmes Safari, and dug himself a hole that I could fit in, and the fact that he, himself was as much a Holmes as any of us.

He will be missed dearly, and my warmest wishes go out Sean, Carly, Matt and Cristin. And also to any of you, who - like me - found a friend in the great Bubbazaur - Tucker. We will all miss you!