I miss Tink very much. I'm constantly reminded of Tink and Pip at home because we have a house fit for a dog. We have the pet beds, the unopened bags of treats, the pet door and pet gate, just to name a few examples.
Tink was the sweetest, most loving dog. She was adorable, too, as she had her characteristic habits and quirks. Possibly my favorite was the way she greeted her family. When she heard us approaching to enter the house, she'd get excited, let out a sharp and abrupt shrill and rush to the door where she would greet us, happily prancing on the other side of the door with a soft toy in her mouth. She always had to have something in her mouth, such as a dog chew or treat of hers or a soft toy. In her latter years here, she usually held a soft dog toy, because I didn't give her chews very much anymore. After Brian's arrival, one would open the door to find her with one of Brian's soft toys in her mouth or one of his baby slippers. At times, perhaps because she didn't have anything else with in reach, I would find her with my slipper in her mouth. I don't know how she could carry a slipper that was nearly as big and heavy as she was.
Tink also always barked when she heard the mail carrier's work vehicle or other "foreign" work vehicles, such as garbage trucks, UPS, or the Sparklett's truck. She barked when she heard the garage open and she barked every time that she heard a bell ring on the television or other entertainment device, so much so that I either had to change the channel on the TV if a game show was on or I had to scold her to keep her quiet. Of course, too, she barked at the sound of a knock on the door or the door bell. Tink, despite being tiny, was a wonderfully protective dog.
One memory that I have of her is when I was walking her in Del Webb. I believe that Bob was with us at the time, or it might have been Pip; we were walking in that subdivision when a UPS truck came our way. Tink spotted the truck and barked directly at it, she even made the driver laugh. She was silly to bark at a work truck when we were in a subdivision that wasn't our own.
When we lived on Fremont, Jeff used to park on the curb, in front of our house. Our lawn wasn't very big, and our bedroom window was to the right of the front door. Tink and I quickly learned the sound of Jeff's pick up as it pulled up to the curb. Even if she was asleep, she'd usually wake to the sound of Jeff's pick up.
Tink was also a begger. She came from the Davis household where all the dogs learned to beg for food. Every time that she heard the clink of a utensil against a ceramic bowl or a pot she'd make a mad dash for the kitchen or to the location from where the sound had emerged.
Tink was an incredibly beautiful dog, too, and I am not someone who must have a designer dog, we didn't buy her and we didn't know her as a pup. She was discovered roaming the streets by Jeff's parents' neighbors. She was with another dog or two when she was found. The neighbors were already fostering multiple dogs and they asked Jeff's parents if they would care for her until they found Tink a home. I remember the first time that I laid eyes on Tink. I had walked in to Jeff's parents' home and I spotted Tink, then a new dog to the house. I remember thinking, 'Poor little ugly dog.' She was very thin and unhealthy looking. I don't know how long she roamed the streets before she was rescued.
We moved from the area in the fall of '09. That same year, Jeff's parents were house hunting out of state. They had asked Jeff if he wanted to give Tink a home. I was a little reluctant because we had just lost Domino in September, but Jeff wanted to bring her home, so we cared for Jeff's parents three dogs while they were out of state house hunting and when they returned for their dogs they left Tink with us. I remember feeling pity for her because she scratched at our front door when Jeff's parents and their dogs had left, as if she wanted her family to know that they had forgot her and she wanted to go home with them. Because of that, I dedicated myself to caring for her and being very good to her. Although Jeff had brought her home, we quickly became the best of friends.
I have always had the terrible habit of going to bed late and Tink always came to find me on the sofa, or in the other bedroom or came to be in the same room with me until it was time to turn in. I'd turn everything off and grab Tink and to bed we would go together. If she was with me on the sofa or in the bed, I'd simply make a comfortable nest for her and she'd fall asleep until I was ready for bed.
Tink also used to come with me to run errands. I went to Starbucks regularly and there were times when they'd offer Tink a "shot" of whipped cream. She loved it, so much so that she then began helping herself to the whipped cream on my frappucino as we drove away. Other times, I'd have to scold her when I'd find her doing the same when I had left my drink unattended.
Because we had Tink before we had our son, and before we cared for additional dogs, she also came on trips with us. She went to the ranch once when Jeff's brother was there with his new baby, she was at Grandma Davis' house, she came to Fresno with us and she went to Idaho a few times. She remembered the new house in Idaho when we went the second time. She made a bee line for the door. She also came with me to southern California once. When Jeff got sick on the road, we had to stay in a motel in Winnemucca; Tink was with us then, too.
Like all good pet parents, I had a number of nicknames for Tink. I referred to her as my Buttercup, and because we called her Sneaky Tinky when she was mischievous, I also called her Sticky and Stickers. The family that rescued her named her Tinkerbell.
Brian UPDATE:
Brian is progressing rapidly in his speech. This evening I gave him a bath before bed. He said he didn't want to get out of the bath so I asked Jeff to pull him out because I knew that he'd put up a fight.
I went to the other bathroom and I heard Brian fighting his dad, I knew he was physically resisting, too, so I laughed out loud when I heard him cry "Hey, what are you doing?!" as he unleashed his tirade at his father.
Earlier in the day, Brian's tutor Laura also told me that she heard him say, "Just kidding." I had given Brian a couple of cookies during his session break and when he went to join Laura again, she asked him if he had had cookies. "No," he replied. She said that then she thinks she heard him say, "Just kidding!"
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