Obituary

Written for those who came to know Tavi personally.
By Beth Goelzer Lyons and Chuck Goelzer Lyons, November 29, 1996

2075 Slaterville Rd Apt 1A
Tele. 607 539-6026
Ithaca, NY 14850-9691
E-mail: bgl1@cornell.edu

November 29, 1996

On November 27, 1996, after twelve long, exuberant years in which he taught us so much about how to live, Beth's MacTavish (Tavi) ABC 1294 died quietly in our arms at the Cornell Animal Hospital. He had cancer.

Tavi saw us through dramatic periods of personal growth in high school, college, and beyond. Tavi was the flower dog at our wedding in the picturesque Treman gorge in August 1991. He was a constant companion, and many of our pictures from trips and travels and daily life have him at center stage. We are thankful that we took a long vacation in the Adirondacks this summer where we all learned to canoe. His death came swiftly and our good-byes were all too brief. Twelve years was too short and twenty would not have been long enough. Tavi was our first child.

He endured significant adversities, from the loss of the toes on his hind leg as a pup to thrombocytopenia and autoimmune hemolitic anemia diagnosed three years ago, yet he always faced life with a wagging tail. We learned about Border Collies firsthand, the hard way, and we became involved in Border Collie rescue in the hope that others would learn that this smartest of dogs is not the easiest pet to live with.

By example, Tavi taught us to always be positive and go about things with unrestrained enthusiasm. Tavi was a role model who lived every day passionately and fully.

We know Tavi touched many lives, and we hope that you will join us in celebrating his life. We are collecting stories about the sheepdog, the order-keeper, the protector, the lover, the hair shedder, the bucket-head, the shadow, and the faithful, inseparable friend we all knew as Tavi. We hope you will share your memories of Tavi with us, so that we may create a treasury of all that Tavi gave us. Please take a few moments to write what you remember about him, and send it along to us. Your thoughts will help us grieve for and remember Tavi.

With love and sadness in our hearts,

Beth Goelzer Lyons
Chuck Goelzer Lyons

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