Honoring Timba, Long Time Best Friend

I remember bringing you home.  You were so big and beautiful with your huge paws and soft fur.  It felt like we had been together for many years, yet we had known each other for only a couple of hours.  I knew there was something special about you that very day, that we would have a bond like no other.  You came home making a mess of the house and getting into the garbage became a passion.  When I scolded you, you just put your head down and looked up at me with those innocent eyes, as if to say, “I’m sorry, but I’ll do it again as soon as you’re not watching.”  From the start, you protected me by barking at anyone who came up the stairs to our house.  When I had a tough day at work, you would be waiting for me with your tail wagging and doing the Timba body slam just to say, “Welcome home.  I missed you.”  You never had a bad day, and I could always count on you to be there for me.  When I sat down to read the paper and watch TV, you would jump on the couch, looking for attention.  You never asked for anything more than for me to pat your head so you could go to sleep with your head over my leg.

As you got older, you moved around more slowly.  Then, one day, a degenerative disease finally took its toll, and you couldn’t stand on those wobbly legs anymore.  I knelt down and patted you lying there, trying to make you young again.  You just looked up at me as if to say you were old and tired and that after all these years of not asking for anything, you had to ask me for one last favor.  With tears in my eyes, Vic and I drove you one last time to the vet.  One last time, you were lying next to me and having treats that you couldn’t have before and you looked so content.  For some strange reason, you were not nervous; you were so calm, as if to say “Mom, there is more work to be done on the other side and that everything will be OK.”  As the vet started the anesthesia, you stopped for an instant, turned your head and looked at me as if to say, “Thank you for taking care of me.”

I thought, “No….  Thank you for taking care of me.”

- Eulogy from Timba’s memorial service, written by Jen, Timba’s mom

Timba, our January Pet of the Month, passed away shortly after she was featured on our blog, in mid-February.

Timba was born on December 23, 1998, and adopted six years later by her loving mother, Jen.  The beautiful Belgian Shepherd lived in Prospect Heights and enjoyed hanging out with Jen by the fountain at Grand Army Plaza.  A Certified Therapy Dog, Timba would visit sick children in the hospital and was considered to be a wonderful healer.

At the end of 2009, Timba was diagnosed with degenerative spinal myelopathy, a neurological disease for which there is no cure.   Even still, she remained positive and strong for the rest of her time on Earth.

The memorial service was held at Tacamack Park in Rockland County NY – one of her favorite hiking spots.

As a reminder that when one door closes, another one opens, Jen and her partner have just adopted a new baby pitbull named Brooklyn.  As we look forward to the amazing life ahead of this young pup, we will always remember that of Timba: the wise soul, compassionate healer, and long time best friend.