TORRINGTON – The loss of a beloved companion is an insurmountable tragedy, and nothing can compare to the devastation of losing a family member. Tiki Heron, a six-year-old golden retriever, was that companion for the Heron family and so much more.

“Tiki was in labor, which we knew, and we knew there was a chance that she would have to have another c-section, so the clinic was on call,” Nicole Heron said. 

After having undergone the Cesarean delivery “c-section” surgery at the Goshen Veterinary Clinic during the morning hours of New Year’s Eve, the veterinary staff released Tiki to go home. Tiki nursed her puppies a couple of times, but the Heron’s discovered she was bleeding.

The Herons took Tiki back to the vet clinic, where the veterinary staff performed emergency surgery. They were able to control the bleed and gave her medicine. The staff decided to keep her at the clinic and attempt to bring her blood pressure back to normal.

“We were supposed to pick her up, and we were on the way to the clinic. We got a call that she had taken a turn, and they were pretty sure that she was not going to make it.” Nicole said. 

Tragically, Tiki didn’t make it and lost her life.

The family was devastated by the loss of their loyal companion. Memories of the dearly cherished“Tiki Bear” began to surface through the tears they shed over her departure. They recalled the many times she would bark when animals would dare walk by her fence, her sincere hatred of a car ride and her love of a visit to the lake. 

They rejoiced over the memories of her barking at animals on the television, as she watched with the family, and getting rubbed by the family as she laid down and cried with joy.

“She loved our kids, but mostly, she loved her daddy (Chris),” Nicole said. “She was his best friend, and they were inseparable. She is so missed.”

While in mourning, the Heron family faced another disconcerting dilemma: What do we do with Tiki’s puppies? With the assistance of friends, neighbors and Mary Sullivan Smith, they decided to reach out to the community to seek a surrogate mother for the litter.

The family had several people offer to take-in the puppies, but Nicole and her husband, Chris, worried that taking the puppies away from their home would have a profoundly adverse effect on their children, Thomas, Ace and Jemma, who were already struggling with the loss of Tiki.

A ray of light showed through in the darkness when a family friend, Emily Quinlan, stumbled across a Facebook post on a Wyoming Golden Retrievers page about a family in Wheatland who had a mothering dog who had just finished nursing her puppies. Quinlan contacted the Heron’s with the good news, informing them a family in Wheatland, Katie and Joe Baker, had a female yellow labrador retriever who could likely act as a surrogate.

The Baker’s brought their dog, Ginger, to the Heron’s residence, and the puppies began to nurse. Though the family remained incomplete with the loss of Tiki, the puppies were going to survive and grow.

Ginger remains with the Heron family and will continue to be with the family until the puppies are old enough to be fed from a bottle. 

The Heron family is incredibly thankful for the outpouring of support they received from the community. 

“We had lots and lots of people reach out to us, too,” Nicole said. “We had numerous vet-techs contact us, and people who had goat’s milk and things like that. There were just lots of contacts in the community of people that were willing to help in any way that they could.”

Though Tiki has moved on in life, the memories will remain for the Heron family.

“Nobody can fully understand the meaning of love unless he’s owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.” – Gene Hill.