Our pack lost its grande dame, this afternoon, when our sweet Tinker went peacefully to her rest. It had become increasingly clear this week that she would not recover from her illness.

Although she was only my dog these past two years, and although she and Riley had their differences, I grew to love her as if she’d always been mine.

A foundling at three weeks old, M found Tinker on his Coral Gables lawn 15 years ago. Her mother was assumed to be part of a pack of feral dogs that roamed Coconut Grove; perhaps she had been killed, leaving behind this poor defenseless puppy.

What luck, though! From that moment on, Tinker knew nothing but love. And it was with love that we sent her to her rest this afternoon.

As Dr. Clifton so poignantly remarked yesterday, we are older than our pets when we get them, then we are the same age, but after that we have to watch them get old and infirm as they reach their life span, but we still go on. It’s hard.

Tinker, our fierce, gentle girl, now rests in peace.

We thank our friends for their loving and kind words and her pet sitters for their love and care.

We thank Adobe Animal Hospital for their loving care, especially veterinarians Rachel Harnish for her meticulous diagnosis and care, Lisa Rose for the loving, peaceful passing, Nancy Clifton for being attuned to where we were at yesterday, all the caring technicians and front desk personnel we’ve talked with over the past year, and the Adobe pharmacy.

We are at Adobe a lot and we take solace in the knowledge that we have provided Tinker and all our dogs the very best vet care in the world.

Fare thee well, Tinker, you were loved more than words can tell.