After several months she realized we were her family now and began to think she should run the place. She began bossing the other dogs around. For five years she did not allow our golden retriever, BJ, to run in the house. She trained him well. BJ learned that he could only run in the house if he was out of her sight. He would walk until out of her view and then run when out of her sight. If she caught him, she would get right in his face and fuss at him. I think they both knew how funny we thought it was. She really enjoyed 'tattling'. One afternoon John's daughter was visiting. Not accustomed to a house full of dogs, she left her sandwich on the coffee table and headed to the kitchen to get a drink. When she came back her sandwich was gone and Tulsa was barking at the other dogs, as if to tell on them. Of course the crumbs on her face were a dead give away.
Tulsa had a myriad of nicknames. She was Goldilocks because she liked to go from crate to crate and lie down in each one for a short time. She was Little Miss Doppler because she was a much more accurate predictor of storms than the local weather man. Tulsa was terrified of storms. When a storm was approaching she would pace and fret. One morning she woke me acting like a storm was approaching. I looked out the window and it was clear. I turned on the weather channel and there was a storm 100 miles north of us. Her accuracy became common knowledge at work. When rain was predicted, my co-workers would ask what Tulsa said. I don't recall her ever being wrong. She eventually learned to crate herself so she would feel safer. Our vet recommended we give her an antihistamine to help her relax when it was stormy. If she was beginning to panic I would say "Tulsa, do you need a Benadryl" and she would follow me to the kitchen and wait for her peanut butter and Benadryl. She was also the Nurse Dog. Whenever one of us or one of the dogs was ill, Tulsa would stay right with us until we felt better. When Nickie was in season and feeling puny, Tulsa would lay beside her until she felt better.
Tulsa's illness came on quickly. Over a period of just a few weeks she began to slow down. We attributed it to her age. Then she began to have trouble breathing. We took her to our vet on a Tuesday morning. He took some x-rays and did some tests. He told us he suspected lung cancer and he did not feel her prognisis was good. He sent her home with us so we could consider treatment options. Tulsa made the decision for us. She had one last good day at home with us and then died early Thursday morning. It started to rain the day Tulsa died, and rained for several days after. I couldn't help but feel that God was mourning with us. We miss her terribly.
