Tara The Wonderbeastie - Farewell To The Goodest Little Girlie

http://www.firsttearsatforty.com

In June 2003, we agreed to take care of brother Jim's three year old dog Tara, while he moved out west to work. As we knew we would have to give her up the moment he returned, we tried our best not to fall in love with her. That plan lasted about twenty minutes, and Tara instantly became a huge part of our lives.

When Jim returned, we were overjoyed to hear him ask us to keep her. He would be working and going to school in the city, and he wanted to see Tara happy, enjoying her familiar country life with loving 'parents' that he trusted to take care of her. Good thing, too, as we had no intention of giving her up!

Everyone loved Tara.

When she visited the vet, she would hop up on a chair, leaving us to stand in the waiting room. Staff would come out from the kennels and the labs in the back to greet her and get one of her famous slurpy kisses. They begged us to give them a puppy or two if we ever bred her.

She was the most well-behaved, sensitive, gentle and generous dog we have ever known. When we took her with us to the gathering after our dear friend Gillian had lost her husband Mike, Tara immediately went to her and leaned quietly while Gillian patted and stroked her. Over the next hour, Tara visited every person in the room, winning over even the non dog lovers. When she'd completed her tour, she lay quietly in a corner, getting up occasionally to visit anyone crying or in need of comforting. Everyone in her life has told us that she would have made a wonderful visitor to a hospital and was a welcome guest in the homes of all our friends and family.

Tara loved to travel in her nest in the back seat of our van. She would ride quietly for hours, pee on command at any rest stop, and wait patiently in any weather for us when we couldn't take her inside to an event.

She loved the water. On our walks around the fields, she'd visit every pond on the farm, and would often go next door on her own and come home covered in algae and smelling swampy! At the beach, she loved to race back and forth, chasing every duck or goose in the water, and even gulls in the sky!

Tara was a rare breed, a Caped Golden Siberian Huskapointador, born under a porch in -25C (-13F) stormy weather. Maybe that's why she loved the snow so much, and why we'd often find her sliding down our icy lane on her back!

She weighed over sixty pounds, but could scrunch herself into the smallest ball to take up the least room on the bed. She'd lie on her back for hours between us and enjoy her favorite pastime - a good long belly rub!

Just short of her tenth birthday, Tara developed a malignancy on her spleen which spread to her liver. Once all the news was in, we knew we had to let her go - way too early for all of us.

We miss her terribly, but we know she's in a better place than here. We are thankful for the seven wonderful joyous years she spent with us and look forward to our reunion some day.

In her honor, we put some pictures of Tara to Bob's song "You Are My Flower". It's helped us deal with our loss, and we hope you enjoy the few minutes you spend with our little girlie. It may even help you deal with a loss of your own.

Sleep tight, little girlie. Goodnight, wee beastie. Farewell, gentle soul. We'll miss you, Tara. Thanks for being such a wonderful part of our lives.

(To hear more tunes like this, please visit http://www.FirstTearsAtForty.com)

PS Bonus lyrics never before released!

Tara The Wonderbeastie Song
(to the tune of "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" by Alan Sherman

Who's the bestest little beastie
From the westest to the eastie?
Who's the goodest little girlie
In the whole wide blinkin' stinkin' winkin' worlie?

It's our Tara, faira Tara
And she got no underweara,
But she no be frightenscara
Just cuz her bum like Yogi, it be Berra!

Repeat as necessary until the walk is over
or until Beastie begins to sing along.