One Tired Toller

Tipper, after retrieving those rubber IKEA balls for 5 straight hours…

To quote my sister:  “She has no shame.”

You can lead a Duck-Toller to water, but you cant’ make ‘em eat.

A few months ago, I wrote how skinny Tipper was, after she had run away for 24 days.    She had lost 10 lbs (30% of her body weight) and was a scrawny 22 lbs.   But not to worry, within 2 weeks, she had fattened up and regained all her weight, and was back to normal.

But my sister informs me that Tipper is down 5 lbs. again.  She’s all skin and tendons.

But it’s not that she’s unhealthy.

It’s because it’s summer, and she lives by the river.

And Tipper is a Duck-Toller.

And Duck-Tollers like to spend every waking moment like this:

Throw the ball, please.

Throw the ball, please.

Throw the ball, please.

VROOOOOM…!!!!

VROOOOOOOM!!!

SPLASH!!!!

BRINGING  IT BACK….

BRINGING IT BACK….

BRINGING IT BACK…!

Jesus, the dog has no off-switch.

She’ll literally do this for HOURS.  Especially if a large crowd is visiting for the weekend, and there’s always a sucker willing participant available to toss her beloved Ikea ball.

Which she will retrieve, again and again.

Forget about going to the bathroom.    Or sleeping.   Or even EATING.

Because THIS  is what she does.

This is her PURPOSE in LIFE.

My sister will give me shit, sometimes.  “NO MORE playing!  Tipper’s had ENOUGH!…”

But how can you stop playing, really?   I mean…LOOK how happy she is…

And look how PATHETIC she looks, when you’re done for the day, and you tell her it’s time to go inside.

That dog ain’t stupid.   She’s got that sad look patented down.

Because she KNOWS Uncle Friar will soon cave in and start the game again.

In the mean time, she gets fed puppy chow and raw eggs to increase her caloric intake, until further notice.

Or at least until the water freezes.

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PS.  **  Thanks to Friar’s Sister, who took most of these photos **
(On account of I was too busy playing with the dog to man the camera).

The Dog who Came Back

A few weeks ago I had written that Tipper, my sister’s dog,  had run away.

Back then, we were starting to get worried.   She had already been lost for over a week.

Then there was a reported sighting,  near a grumpy farmer’s property.  Who was rumored to have shot dogs before.

That’s about when the  sightings stopped, and we began to fear the worst.

Day after day, with still no word about Tipper.

Emotions up and down, like a roller coaster.

Then we started to accept that maybe she might be gone for good.

And we did our grieving.

It was like a lump in my chest that wouldn’t go away.

I felt like I had just lost my best friend.

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Well, my best friend is BACK!!!

Yesterday, Tipper showed  up in someone’s barn, all miserable and bedraggled.    Apparently the cats were teasing her, and she was too weak to fight them off.

The farmer had a copy of one of the flyers we had sent out, and phoned my brother-in-law.     Within hours, Tipper had seen the vet and was safely back home.

The dog’s been MIA for 24 days.  She went from 32 lbs. to 22 lbs.   She’s a walking bag of bones, and totally exhausted.

Lord only knows what kind of anxiety and trauma she’s been through the past three weeks.   I don’t even know how she fed herself.

But aside from being hungry and tired, the vet said she’s otherwise okay.

And of course, yesterday I had to get in my car and drive for a few hours, to go see her.

The first thing she did when she saw me was bark excitedly, and then go get her ball.

The silly mutt barely had enough strength to walk,  but here she was, trying to lure me outside into the back yard so I could play with her.

Because that’s the special game that Tipper plays with Uncle Friar.   And only Uncle Friar.

I’m not ashamed to admit, I just plopped down on the floor, and bawled my eyes out.   Out of  sheer joy and relief, this time.

Of course, Tipper didn’t care to notice.  She just kept yapping at me.

C’mon Uncle Friar!   C’mon!  Let’s PLAY!

You stupid dog!

You stupid, lovable dog!

Welcome back.