Good dog, Tucker! We got to catch up with this sweet lab boy and his owner, Kristen Wentworth this week. Kristen shares about meeting Tucker for the first time, a bit about their favorite summer activity - dock diving, some of their favorite dog friendly places, and more…
On Meeting Tucker
I found out about Tucker when he was a day old. I lost my last pup (a 12 1/2 year-old chocolate lab) just over a month before. I was actually looking into raising a guide puppy because I wasn't sure that I would be ready for another one of my own so soon. I was approved and went to an orientation, but due to it being during COVID, a lot of people wanted to do it. I was told it could be a while, so I had started looking for a dog of my own. My best friend saw a Facebook post about Tucker’s litter by a high school classmate of hers and sent it to me. It was the day before my birthday, and I ultimately decided to get myself a present. Knowing about him practically from birth was so amazing as I got to follow him from the start and got pictures of his first food, first bath, first time outside, etc. I also got to go out and meet him (he's from Pulaski) with my best friend when he was four weeks old, which was one of the best days of my life. It was absolutely love at first sight and really hard leaving him for another three and half weeks that day.
Fun fact — two of his sisters ended up going to friends of mine in New Hampshire after seeing a Facebook post that I made about the litter and deciding to get him, so we got to meet them all on that day. And now we get to see his siblings Maple and Winni once a year or so when we visit family, which is really cool.
All About Tucker
Tucker is the perfect combination of energy and love. He is an active boy, which forces me to get out and do stuff with him every day, but he is also a giant love who will crawl in my lap (all 90 pounds of him!) and snuggle like no other.
Tucker makes friends everywhere he goes. As a COVID puppy, I went out of my way to make sure he was socialized, so we went to every store and place where pups are welcome. He definitely has staff members that he remembers and looks for in many of these places. He also loves to visit with my neighbors, and is amazing with kids.
Like most labs, Tucker loves to chase and retrieve balls, and he would live in the water if allowed. We started dock diving when he was 8 months old. He took to it right away, and has gotten pretty good. During our second year, we actually earned a sponsorship from his food company Canidae, which is a huge help. Tucker competes in all three disciplines of dock diving — Big Air (distance), Extreme Vertical, and Speed Retrieve — which classifies him as an Iron Dog. We received invites to the DockDogs World Championships in Dubuque, Iowa each of the past two years but were unable to attend. I am really hoping we get an invite again this year and are able to go. Our season officially kicks off on Memorial Day weekend, and we have plans to compete in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York over the summer.
Apart from this, he loves peanut butter and baby carrots. Unlike my previous two labs who would tear apart any stuffed toy within minutes of getting it, Tucker also loves his stuffies and probably has more toys than most children.
On Connections Made
One day last fall, we were out at Lake George, and we met a little boy named Tucker. He thought it was so cool that he and my Tucker had the same name. He played with us for a few minutes and then went on his way with his family. Fast forward to last month, we were out at Lake George again and the same little boy came over to us at Shepard Park asking if that was Tucker. His mom proceeded to tell me that they have a seasonal home here and had just come up for the weekend. Apparently, the boy had not been able to stop talking about Tucker the dog after their last trip and had said on their way up the day prior that he had hoped he might see him. What are the odds? Needless to say, my boy has helped connect me with so many incredible people and pups, and this is probably one of the things I love about him most.
Tucker and Kristen
On Local Dog Friendly Favorites
We live right behind Sutherland's Petworks, so this is hands down his favorite place and somewhere that we can be found several times each week. Tucker is also a regular at TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Old Navy, JoAnn's, the Canal Street Marketplace, and Dancing Grain Farm Brewery. You can find us just about anywhere there is live music outside in the summer.
And then, of course, there is the water. We mostly practice on the dock in Bennington, Vermont and travel around New England to compete, but we can also often be found at Lake George and Haviland Cove. The latter is a special place to me as I went there almost every night with my girl in the summer of 2020 before she passed away and have a memorial box there for her. Although Tucker never met Miley, he has always seemed to know there is something about this place and will go straight for the box as soon as we get there.
On The Love of a Dog
There are so many things I love about having a dog in my life. They don't care what you wear or what you look like, what you do for work or how much money you make. They just love you for who you are and find joy in the simple things. As a result, I have learned to do so also. I can be having the worst day, but 10 minutes of fetch with a giant dog who is grinning from ear to ear and tapping his toes in anticipation only to then run up to you with a big slobbery kiss is enough to turn all of that around for me. With all three of my dogs, I have also made countless connections, and that is the thing for which I am probably most grateful.
