Along came Tucker! All of our dogs have been "walk-ons". We never had a "draft choice". Tucker was bought by an aging cousin at a hoity-toity Corgy kennel in Texas, flown to Worcester and became her only pet. He lived in a small home on a quiet street with a very small backyard. Not much walkin', chillin' in the park (pahk), or getting' rowdy with other dogs. His life appeared to be pretty dull. He acted sad and mostly cowered under a chair when we visited every summah...

Sadly, that cousin died. Even sadder for Tucker, nobody in the Massachusetts family wanted him. But, our extended Texas family loved that cousin and her dog. Tucker returned to Texas by air, five years after leaving, now has a bigger house on some acres, on a dead-end road, with a big fenced back yard -- and, another dog to play with - plus, other dogs, city dogs, who come to visit. Everybody welcomed him.

Tucker is an extravert now. You cannot ignore him. He does not cower. He demands attention and that endless balls be thrown for his retrieval. He loves RV camping; "so much to sniff, so little time!"

His most unique characteristic: he does not like sneezing. If he hears anyone sneeze, he runs to them barking. He also barks at "pre-sneezing". He can hear a sneeze coming and he is on it! Post-sneeze nose blowing? Forgetaboutit.

Boxes also upset his otherwise gregarious nature. Christmas really has him on edge with boxes everywhere. He's a nervous wreck. Pretty wrapped boxes? As frustrating to Tucker as plain brown cardboards.

Our best guess is that the cousin had serious allergy problems and kept Tucker in a box during her sneezing attacks. He has emotional scars, but, is progressing...