Tulliver is an exceptionally sweet, well-mannered, and almost timid dog. Denied proper socialization at a critical stage in his early months, he tended to view other dogs and novel situations as threats. He bonded completely to me, and when unsure of himself would glue himself to my side. It made training difficult as he simply refused to let me out of his sight. Even at vet visits, the staff would practically have to drag him away from me to draw blood samples.
He was an extremely effective service dog, completely attuned to my needs, but I always felt a little sorry for him, sorry that he had not come to us as a pup and gotten off to a great start in life. Still, the pledge I make to each dog in my life is to accept the gifts they have to give in the spirit with which they are offered. Tulliver’s gift was absolute devotion, so upon losing Barley to cancer it was Tulliver who stepped up to the plate and rode with me for two years. He never truly enjoyed travel in the sidecar, but clearly he wanted to be with me.
His place was wherever I was…but at seven years old he would soon age out of travel.