Rest In Peace, Tristan

My parents had to put Tristan down today. He was that big lunky, beautiful German Shepherd there on the right on my sofa at my old house. This evening my parents' home is without the physical presence of a dog for the first time in over 30 years, though the canine spirits that hover have a new friend joining them tonight.

Tristan came to my mom and dad's as a seven-month-old puppy who had spent much of his formative puppy months locked in a crate in a basement, the victim of a divorce. This left him a bit skittish for such a big guy, but gave him an extra helping of love to bestow on his new family.

He joined Elizabeth Regina "Ellie," a rather high strung Airedale who fancied herself human and wouldn't give dogs the time of day - she'd give them a snarl or two (she once tried to eat my darling little Frankie when he was but a pup) - but most of the time it was detente, pure and simple. Needless to say, Tris didn't learn to speak dog very well in Miss Ellie's company and pretty much kept to himself.

At the right time, I brought Frankie down for a visit from the U.P. and Frankie is one cool dude. It didn't take him long to teach his big cousin the ropes on having a romp with other dogs and relaxing and playing. The awesome thing is that Tris turned around and brought this lesson to Miss Ellie and soon after Frankie's visit, Tris and Ellie were best buds.

Ellie eventually passed on though, leaving Tristan on his own for a bit until my parents rescued Gracie, an energetic, friendly Airedale who took to her new pal right out of the starting gate. On occasion, my parents loaded up both dogs and came to visit me in my old house in town. However, Pop likes to come up for NMU hockey and Tristan was always his traveling buddy. As Dad would start to pack up the PT Cruiser, Tris would get all excited knowing that a road trip was in the works.

The travel routine always involved a pit stop at the rest area south of Green Bay. Tris might even get a bit of a fast food treat along the way. Once up here they would often take a walk down the bike path near my house.

Over the years, Tris's health took some serious turns for the worse. He dodged a bullet twice when he suffered spinal strokes that left him weakened in the hind quarters. Managing the stairs at my new house in the woods got to be a challenge for him the last couple years.

He was diagnosed with a rather aggressive cancer a month or so ago. He held on as long as he could, getting himself upstairs to my parents' bedroom to sleep at night even after he could no longer get himself up on the bed. Only the last night or so did he have to stay downstairs. His poor body began to fail him and today was the day for him to cross over.

Despite his health issues over the years he lived to be eleven years old. He was a magnificent dog. He was preceded in death by his canine buddies Ellie and Gracie and his canine cousins, Bernie and Chiquita. He is survived by his loving parents and human siblings and his canine cousins, Frankie, Zoe, Cosmo, & Lola. His ashes will be interred in the family plot behind the house with a small bit being interred here in the woods of his Uncle's house as well. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to your local Humane Society or the Canine Rescue Organization of the breed of your choosing.

This tune is dedicated to his memory and to dog lovers everywhere. Rory Block, a very talented blues musician, wrote this piece called Momma's Stray Baby. Enjoy.

NEW COMMENT: My mom told me that the day they were scheduled to bring him in their vet got a call from her kid's school that she was sick and needed to be picked up. The vet called her husband and told him he had to do it because the Shell's were coming with their dog. What an awesome doc, eh?

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