Pi

a California Pug

Tecopa was my mommy's dog before I came to live here. She was a giant black labrador pit bull cross that was large enough to be frightening. Her first known humans took her to the pound when she was about three years old and too big for their apartment. That's where mommy's exhusband found her and brought her home to be a guard dog, and to satisfy a promise he made to mommy's daughter that he would get her a dog if she would promise to live with him. A year later, after the house had been burgled a couple times with Tecopa inside, the ex decided to move to a safer place. The daughter asked mommy to watch Tecopa while they moved from place to place. So, mommy agreed to doggie sit.

Tecopa was very sad and missed that young girl a lot. When the two weeks that the caretaking time was over, no one came for Tecopa. At the end of the month, the daughter called in tears, "Dad said to take her to the pound, he doesn't want Tecopa any more because she's a lousy watch dog." Soft hearted mom wouldn't do that, and the legacy began that very day. Tecopa turned out to be a wonderful dog, Lassie should be so smart. She raised the family when a fire was about to start, even before the smoke alarms went off. She rescued baby birds that fell out of their nests and brought them to mommy so that they could be put back in their homes. She provided company and protection for mommy's mom during her later days. She was always gentle with children and fierce with people that meant to do harm. No one ever taught her how, she just knew what to do.

When Tecopa got very old she let mom know that it was time for her to get another dog so that she wouldn't be lonely. Mommy did a lot of thinking and figuring and planning and one day she came and got me from my birth home. I was the runt in the litter and not real strong. Tecopa became my foster mommy. She taught me how to go outside, kept a vigilant eye on me all day long, gave me hundreds of baths, and gave me love that even my own mommy didn't do. She was such a shining example of how a dog should be that everyone who met her would eventually go and rescue a dog too.

Then one day, she came and put her paw on mommy's arm. "It's time" was all she said. She knew that I would be a good dog, that mommee would not be alone, and that she was ready for an end to her pain. In her name my cousin Susy, and roommates Little Mister, Wooster, Peabody, Bootris, and Minardi have all found loving homes. Tecopa's waiting for us at the Bridge now, and we all owe her the happiness we've known.

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