Tyson Chompers Nelson
July 28, 2002 - July 3, 2014
Lost my first "baby" this week! Our Tyson has joined our puppy Joia in the Rainbow in the sky! Tyson was the first pet and "kid" that Jon and I had. We got him when he was 6 weeks old and he was such a fun puppy. We got our Boxer Joia the same week and they grew up together. We named him Tyson as he loved to nibble on peoples and Joia's ears. And Chompers as a middle name because we liked to Chomp everything!
We came home from being gone all day and Mitchell found him lying dead in the middle of our back yard in the grass. Surprisingly, nothing had seemed amiss - he had played with the kids in the backyard the night before and ate his breakfast. He had hypothyroidism, hip dysplasia and had a few seizures the past year and possibly had tumor as his skin tumors began to multiply and his hearing was lacking, but his energy levels were high and he still loved to go on walks and to play down at the river bed. He didn't act like a senior dog. His dog breed averages 10-12 years of age and he would have been 12 this month. So with all those factors, one of them probably was the cause of the death (no way to know for sure). I was glad to know that he did not suffer for weeks or months or even days. The vet said he most likely went suddenly too as he had no vomit or blood outside his body or he had not cowered in his house or corner and was literally in the middle of the yard. . So it is comforting to know that even though I was not with him when it happened, it was probably so sudden he did not have any pain.
He was such a good natured dog and as our Boxer liked to jump up on everyone he started to learn that habit too, but he was a much bigger dog so we had to (tried to) break him of that habit. Until the day he dies he still had a fixation on peoples ears. You could not sit on the ground by him without with coming and licking your ears. He loved his walks and although he hated to be sprayed by water he LOVED having baths! He would let you dress him up and didn't care - and we loved having fun with that as you can see in the slideshow below!
He was very loving and so good with the kids - never once snapped or growled at any child, and Mitchell loved to sit on him and pet his belly. He loved having his belly and head petted but HATED if anyone petted or touched his paws!
We will ALL miss our sweet boy and can picture him running the hills (with no hip pain) with Joia! It will be hard to get used to not having him under my feet while in the kitchen or sharing our leftovers! It is weird to no longer be a dog owner, but I guess we will always be Tyson's family!
Here are some of my favorite photos of Tyson!
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