Losing Tribble

When we adopted our dog Garnet in 2010, we discovered she was knocked up! She had a litter of five puppies, and we found homes for four of them with various friends. We kept Tribble, who was named after her cute way of growling that sounded like the tribbles on Star Trek (in The Trouble with Tribbles episode). Hence, her name. She growled that way whenever she was excited throughout her life.

As I mentioned in my last blog, Tribble unexpectedly died this spring, and it has taken me a few months to emotionally get to a place where I could write about her. Since we spay and neuter all our dogs, she is from the only litter from one of my pets. Tribble is the only pet I’ve known from birth to death, and we cherished her sweet, loving disposition. She always seemed up for adventure, too!

I don’t know how Tribble went from being an all-black dog with gold eyebrows to having so much gold fur! Eventually, she had gold guard hair that took over the black undercoat so that she had a lovely golden glow all over.

When Jazz died a few years ago, Tribble took over as alpha for our pack of three female dogs. No real bossing was needed, but she took over bathroom escorts for me and slept on our bed near my feet, between me and the door. She was our home security enforcer, and no one told her she was too small for the job. Eventually, River joined her in guard duty, ensuring anyone who knocked or rang the doorbell knew they were not getting in unless I wanted them in. If my husband let someone in the house, the barking wouldn’t stop until I approved the visitor, too.

Tribble was known for her voracious appetite and her big heart. I’m slow to wake up and get going in the mornings. Tribble made it her job to send me into my day every morning with an open heart. That was her primary job, and she wouldn’t leave me alone until she saw my eyes soften and my heart open. She was always successful.

We miss Tribble terribly, but no one has missed her more than Garnet. They were not just mother/daughter but also best buddies who did everything together. Garnet was always braver when Tribble was there, and she depended a lot on Tribble for her social support.

With Tribble gone, Garnet stopped eating. She was listless and disinterested in everything. She slept a lot. After a few days, I began to worry, and it was almost a whole week before I could entice her to eat a few treats (deli turkey for the win!) and eventually a small meal. We are pleased and relieved that Garnet is doing okay now. She is trying hard to learn how to cope without Tribble. River is graciously spending more time with Garnet, and they are now a sub-pack of two within our blended family of humans, dogs, cats, and parrots.

It has been a year of unexpected difficulties, and losing Tribble has been the hardest to move through.