Tristan Bean | Random Thoughts

Tristan Bean was born on July 28, 2009. My husband and I had the privilege of meeting him in September of 2009 in the southwest region of the United States. We had been looking for a dog for a few weeks and I was certain we were supposed to have a brown dog. I wasn't sure what kind of dog, just that they would be brown and perfect for us. We were driving around one night and saw a sign for free puppies near a car in a parking lot at a store.

We drove up to the car and saw quite a few puppies in the trunk of the car, some black and white and some brown. We spotted an extremely small puppy in the right corner of the trunk, much smaller than the rest and I picked him up. Not sure if he was the right one, I looked at the others, then looked at him and felt sure we had picked the right one. We thanked the owners and took him home. I already knew I had wanted to name him Tristan, after the character in the film, Tristan and Isolde (2006). My husband agreed that it was a great name and on the way home, he slept in my lap.

We got him home and put him down on a rug, where he promptly pooped. I thought he had pooped rice as there were white bits and big pieces of corn and peas in his poop. Turns out it was worms (gross), which I discovered when they started moving. Worried about our new friend, we made an appointment the next morning for a local veterinarian and took him in. He got so nervous he peed on the table, so I took the shirt I wrapped him in to keep him warm and cleaned it up, then threw the shirt away.

We told Tristan there was nothing to worry about and everyone gets nervous at the doctor's office, so peeing wasn't a big deal or embarrassing or anything. He was reassured and was very brave. The vet told us Tristan was an Australian Cattle Dog and German Shepherd mix, a very handsome boy indeed.

The vet also told us that Tristan had two kinds of parasites, one in his gut and one in his eyes, so he gave us some antibiotics to clear them up and after about a week, Tristan could see and his body was healthy again. We found the best food we could and gave him all kinds of treats, his favorite being bully sticks.

As a puppy, Tristan loved to be carried around and held, so we made sure he had lots of attention and love. They call Australian Cattle Dog's Blue Heelers, which are known to be "Velcro dogs", so they don't like to be far from you. In fact, every time we turned around, Tristan would be right next to us or right behind us, making sure we were okay and safe.

Tristan had a list of eccentric fears, which made us joke that he had been in the Vietnam War. He was afraid of flies buzzing, gunfire, helicopters, as well as thunderstorms, trash trucks and fireworks. We always made sure he knew he was safe from all of his fears and worries and that he was very brave when facing these fears. Any time we had anxiety and worry, he always made sure to come up to us and make sure we felt safe and happy too.

His favorite toys were this hamburger I bought him as a puppy, an orange toy called "Bad Cuz", which he had bitten the legs off of when he was little, a figure eight rope toy and a red squeaky ball with a weird face on it. He always had these toys nearby and took very good care of them.

As we all grew older together, we moved to several different states across America, liking and disliking things about where we lived, but always staying strong and supporting each other. Tristan was there with us every step of the way and never complained about any of it. He always made it known that his main goal in life was to be near us and have us all together, safe and happy.

This June, we lost our best friend, life-long companion and family member. We will never forget him and will never take for granted how special he was, how much better he made us, how much we learned from him, how much he taught us about love, forgiveness and loyalty and we will never forget how very much we love him, forever.

Rest in peace Tristan Bean. We love you. Always.

Love,

Mama and Dad