Tasha Dog, Chief Of Security, Dec 5 1994-Sept 24, 2010

The moment every dog parent dreads is the day a decision must be made to spare their dear companion any more pain. That day came for our dear Tash on Friday night and its taken me a couple days to be able to compose myself to write a tribute for her.

We brought Tasha home from a Alberta farm when she weighed less than a pound and had not yet cut any teeth. It was clear from the start that she was a strong willed and protective dog and so she was named Tasha after Tasha Yar, the security officer on Star Trek. Each morning I would awaken with Tasha wrapped around my head like a fur hat, wondering how this puppy who was only inches tall managed to negotiate her way into our four-poster bed during the night. It became clear in the weeks ahead that Tasha had powerful legs and could jump three times her height with little effort.

We moved from Alberta when Tasha was 8 months old and somewhere around Winnipeg she went into heat for the first time. The combination of hormone induced irritability, being trapped in a car for two days and growing some impressive looking teeth, kept the customs officer well away from the car when we crossed the border into the US.

Tasha liked a good massage but generally wasn't a cuddly dog. She had a "get off me, I'm working" tough as nails kind of personality and was extremely protective of her people. After Tasha foiled a burglary at the neighbours house one night, the police commented on her menacing gaze and said "Lady, nobody is ever going to break into your house".

Tasha loved a good cat (not in the same way she loved a good bird). Her first best friend was the cat next door and they would chase each other around until they were exhausted, and then fall asleep together. She loved watching cats and other animals on TV forcing us to get rid of our large TV that sat on the floor for fear she would break through the screen. She ran through our screen door several times in pursuit of the wildlife and could easily outrun any creature in the yard.

When we brought our daughters home from China, they automatically became two more of Tasha's people to protect. Despite developing Cushings Disease, going blind and deaf, banging her nose on the wall and doors several times a day, Tasha kept working, never complaining or whimpering.

Tasha was the first dog that Tony and I adopted together, and she was a great lot of fun during some really tough transitional times in our life. When we arrived in our current city, it was Tasha that helped us choose our home...a small house but with a huge wooded yard that she was ecstatic about playing in. It wasn't fenced, so we attached her to a hundred feet of clothesline each morning to go out and play, and would rescue her with an inch of line left after she had wrapped herself around every tree on the lot.

She got to know and love my now deceased Mom and Aunt Bea, who she knew were always good for a few table scraps or an extra doggie biscuit. During a rib dinner while Mom was visiting one night, Tasha was desperate for a share. I said to her "say MA MA and I'll give you my ribs" to which she replied "MA MA". We all dropped our forks in amazement, and Tasha got my ribs. I've never met a being that enjoyed food the way Tasha did.

In the months before she died, Tasha had a difficult time getting her body and mind to work together. At 5 am each morning, we were up to shower her, put her dog blanket in the wash and clean the floor. She began to fall, but would persistently work to get back on her feet. She will forever be an example of strength in adversity.

Our house seems very quiet now. Lucy paces around looking for her friend and Bella seems to have taken over the security post. Lil announces Tasha's death to everyone who visits and Gracie pushes the dog button on her leapfrog and says, Tasha, Lucy and Bella.

I awoke from a dream yesterday of my Aunt Bea holding Tasha's leash and calling her to come. But on a walk with Bella last night, I felt her walking beside us, and during the night I heard her paws on the wood floor in the hall. Still watching over us, her people. Tasha Dog, always amazing, forever loved, terribly missed.