February 14, 1983 - January 1996

Nicknames: Tinker

Tinkerbell was our black lab that we adopted when I was 6 years old in May 1983. She was born on February 14, 1983, Valentines Day. We named her Tinkerbell from the movie Peter Pan which we had just seen because Mom and I liked the character Tinkerbell.

I still remember the day we picked her up, she was just a puppy and oh so cute. She rode home on Mom's lap with her chin gently resting on her arm. She was such a cute puppy. My parents had a black lab before her. But Tinker was very unique.

I have many fond memories with her growing up. She was the typical puppy and got into everything. She loved to eat shoes in her puppy years and even was caught chewing the siding on the house. That was when the siding was wood. Dad became very irritated at her one time when she chewed the brake wires on his trailer. You learned not to leave anything remotely chewable around because she didn't miss much.

We had adopted her to be our outside dog. It was a good thing because I couldn't imagine the destruction she could have caused if she was left loose in the house. She never went into the house except for one or two times by accident and didn't stay long.

Dad built her a huge dog house and used the old wood siding from the house. It was perfect for her and kept her nice and warm in the cold months. The dog house was kept inside a pen which is where she spent her nights. Every night in the winter she got canned food mixed in with her hard food and was moved to the pen near the side of the yard.

Tinker was very happy because she had a huge yard to roam. At almost an acre of land, she spent many hours roaming the yard and even was part hunter. She would spend many hours sitting by holes in the ground created by the little squirrel critters, trying to catch one. I can't remember a time where she was quick enough to catch one. Squirrels and rabbits were always a target too. I remember one time, Mom was digging in her bed of flowers and had a very unpleasant surprise. Tinker had caught, killed, and buried a rabbit. She often caught some other critters as well, but many times they were too fast for her.

She absolutely hated Hot Air balloons. Any time they went over the house you knew because Tinker was barking at them. They were not welcomed in her yard.

She spent many hours walking behind Dad as he mowed the yard! She was always around to see who was there to visit her and usually loved company. She was your typical dog and loved bones as well as people food. 

Lounge chairs were there for her, you see. We had many folding chairs and lounge chairs on the back porch that were basically for her. She also inhabited the picnic table. It was quite funny at first looking out to see this big black dog on top of the picnic table.

She was a fairly large lab and many times, she walked me, instead of me walking her. If you didn't keep up, you didn't stand a chance.

We had a fenced in backyard, but she was a pro at escaping from the backyard. I always worried that she would get hit by a car. We didn't live on a busy street, a small suburb. She would travel a couple blocks. I remember chasing her many times and dragging along a bone and leash with me. Sometimes it worked and she came to me and other times we just kept an on eye on her and she returned home when she became tired.

Tinker hated water with a passion. I often tried to spray her with a water gun from the pool or with the hose. And bath time was a huge challenge. We had this tin tub that we put her in and washed her up and dried her off with a towel. She always had a good coat of hair. Mom and I spent many hours giving her baths, trimming, and brushing her. Brushing wasn't bad, but water. Lets just say we got a bath as well.

She had fairly good health with the exception of having to have a couple growths removed. Trips to the vet were always an effort. We usually lifted her into the back of the pickup. She couldn't jump onto the tailgate because it was too high.

I used to get great joy from chasing her with my remote control cars although she didn't share my enjoyment. We had a long stretch of sidewalk that she often paced back and forth.

Tinker wasn't the only dog of the household. She shared the backyard with Puff (our Pomeranian) and Misty (our poodle). They all got along very well.

In the winter, we used to laugh watching her hop through the snow. I would build some snow forts and tunnels and she always took part in testing them out. Dad always plowed the back yard and made paths for her. She did very well in the winter months.

Summer was the hardest part of the year for her mainly because of her heavy fur coat and the hot months. I remember often letting her in the garage where it was cooler with fans going just for her. She also hated thunderstorms and if there was a slight sign of rain, she would run into the garage or asked to be let in. If you wanted to get her in her pen when it was raining or just starting the chances were pretty slim of you succeeding.

I can never recall a time when she was mean towards anyone. But a large dog like her was bit intimidating to strangers. One time there was a kid sitting out under one of our pine trees. We asked him what he was doing and he said "Playing block tag." I told Tinker to go after him and told him to get out of the yard. We were quite amused at how fast he ran once Tinker started running towards him. He made every effort to get over that fence as quickly as possible!

She developed cancer in her later years and had to be put to sleep in January 1996. She was a good dog and I will always miss her!