To William, Erma, Eva, & Marybeth...

This July, as probably all of you know, we lost our little Tuffy. She was an old gal (14 years) and had several troubling chronic health problems....and because she was our dear friend for the last six years we made the very hard decision to put her down. We don't regret doing it...but have been profoundly more sad than I thought we would be.

The day after she was gone, I decided to send a card to the woman we adopted her from. Actually, I didn't really know who I was writing the note too....at some point Mike found a name (Eva Gonyer) and address. I'm not even sure where he found it...but he thought it was Tuffy related. He put the name and address in our address book under "Tuffy's Old Owners." The card just explained that we loved Tuffy very much the last 6 years but sadly had to put her down. I talked a little bit about our family and that was it.

A little more background for those of you who don't know: In 2003 Mike was delivering furniture for HOM. On a cold day in February, he and his partner were delivering a special order leather sofa to a house in Forest Lake. When they got there they were greeted by a little black poodle at the top of the steps...tail wagging so fast it was just a blur by her butt...she immediately rolled over for a belly rub. Mike, unable to resist, obliged. They completed their delivery and were ready to head out. On his way out the door Mike petted Tuffy again and commented that she was really cute. The woman who had signed for the sofa said "do you want her?"....and the rest is history! I found out about her when Mike (my then fiance) called me and said "....we were going to get a dog someday, right?" Apparently Tuffy had belonged to an older couple. The woman had died a few years prior to 2003 and the man had died just recently. Actually, the sofa was ordered for him, but he passed away before it was delivered. The woman in Forest Lake (whose relationship to the man we didn't know) inherited the sofa and Tuffy....but didn't really want either one.

Anyway, so I sent a card.

Weeks passed, I didn't hear anything, I forgot about the card.

This week, Mike was going through the mail and tossed me a large yellow envelope. I didn't recognize the return address, but the name "Gonyer" was who I had sent the note too!

I opened the envelope to find a homemade card with the word "TUFFY" printed across the top. Below that was a picture of our buddy when she was just a pup!

Inside the card were several more pictures. One of William and Erma Lampe on their 40th wedding anniversary. Another one of a much younger William, holding an English Bulldog puppy, and two more of Tuffy before she came to our family.

The card said:

September 25, 2009

Hello Jenny & Mike! My name is Marybeth, and I'm the daughter of Eva Gonyer, who's brother was William Lampe, the original owner of Tuffy.William and Erma were definite dog lovers! Their first dogs were raising bulldogs. They did this for years. My mother believes they received Tuffy from a vet when she was young. They took her from the vet because she was sick and was going to be put down.

William and Erma took her home and nursed her back to health and she became their beloved pet. They were married 47 years when Erma died in May of 2000. William was a musician & played the saxophone in a band. I believe they were home quite a bit with Tuffy, especially when Erma's health deteriorated.

My mother was so pleased Mike came by that day and saw Tuffy and knew you could give her a good home.

I do feel for your loss of your Tuffy. I too am a dog lover and just lost my beloved Seuss, a mini schnauzer. They are so much a part of us.

I know William and Erma would have been very happy to know their Tuffy went to such a wonderful family. Please keep the enclosed pictures. One (on the front of the card) we feel she was a puppy.

Have a great Autumn.

Sincerely,

Marybeth Olson


I was really really happy to hear from Marybeth. Even 2 months later, it is nice to hear that someone is sorry for our loss. My heart hurts for her and her little buddy Seuss...pet people who have been through this know...its hard. I'm also so grateful to the Lampes for taking Tuffy in as a pup, and am so glad to hear that they loved her as much as we did....and as much as I miss her, its comforting to know that they have her back.

I'll post the pictures when I can.