This is Pongo James Tackett. He was born in the summer of 1990 and we lost him February 28, 2008. His kidneys had pretty much failed. He had arthritis, a hard time walking and getting around. He threw up undigested food. His hearing was practically gone, and in a mere two weeks he had lost an awful lot of weight, so we're pretty sure he had cancer.
He grew very depressed after Ginger Marie left us and had at one point quit eating; he began turning his nose up at his favorite foods in his time of loss. I explained dog depression to my parents on several occasions and at first they didn't believe me. I’m nuts about animals so they thought it was sort of this ploy to get a puppy!
Anyway I researched article after article and I showed them what I had found. We held a family meeting before I came up with the proof and the answer had been “no.” But once they read it for themselves, well it all changed. So we got Pongo a friend -- Mason Dupre' Tackett.
When we brought Mason home my dad put Pongo in our backyard and when Mason came up the driveway on the leash, Pongo didn't bark, he didn't get aggressive, in fact like a pup himself, he ran up to the gate and began wagging his tail. So we let Pongo in the house and he and <ason were nose to nose wagging tails when they met -- they just loved each other! Instantly they became brothers.
Pongo perked up, he began eating again, I even caught him playing with Mason on several occasions; something he hadn’t done in ages. Sadly, a couple months later his condition started to rapidly decline. It was his physical health, not his mental health. Mentally he was young again, but physically Pongo was not and it began to show. So once again we were faced with that decision.
My dad took Pongo that day alone because he had a bond with Pongo like I had with Ginger. Pongo is our most recent loss and so it’s more emotional to talk about for some of us. I am told Pongo let out a sigh of relief once he'd realized it was his turn to go, so that says to us we had perfect timing. He was ready and he told us.
So now Pongo is at the Rainbow Bridge with Ginger. I love you babies and when it's my time, I'll see you there....