PET OBITUARY
MANCHESTER, NH—Late in the evening on Saturday, December 28th, Heaven called back one of its angels.
Born in Superior, Montana, on November 1, 2012, Tuley was surrendered to the Western Montana Humane Society only eight months after her birth. Arriving at the shelter along with her entire canine family, Tuley was the only one among them deemed ‘adoptable’.
The shelter was filled with dogs, each standing at their kennel doors, begging to be adopted. Only one kennel was quiet and peaceful—and that’s the one that captured the curiosity of Manchester native Shauna Houghton. Something just seemed special about this yellow lab walking on Italian greyhound legs.
Shelter staff warned that this pup was “an escape artist.” The adoption proceeded anyway, and in short order it was clear that little Tuley had only been trying to escape because she sensed that her soulmate was somewhere within a 20-minute radius of the shelter.
From the day of her adoption, Tuley spent every possible moment of her life by Shauna’s side. Tuley walked off-leash, never straying far from her soulmate—defying all accusations of escape artistry. She was also peaceful and kind to everyone crossing her path, whether dog, cat, human, or other.
Readers might recall seeing Tuley at a Manchester public park at some point in the past several years. Tuley was the dog catching long-distance frisbee throws, in midair, for hours—seemingly inexhaustible.
But every good girl gets tired eventually. With Shauna, Tuley had seen and done nearly everything there was to see or do in a single lifetime. Tuley took road trips across multiple states, swam in rivers and lakes, climbed mountains, and rolled in snow (the latter as often as nature would allow).
Tuley walked in Pride parades, explored Manchester’s famous Taco Tour, and took regular trips to visit her great-grandparents in Maine. Throughout each adventure, Tuley ensured a frisbee was always handy.
She walked, ran, and swam this earth for nearly 4,500 days—almost every one of them by Shauna’s side. On Christmas Eve this year, while inches of fluffy snow fell on Manchester, Tuley caught a frisbee for the last (but likely billionth) time. It was sometime on Christmas Day that Tuley’s floppy ears sensed a call to a place with unlimited, eternal frisbee—an invitation she could not resist.
Tuley is survived by her soulmate, Shauna, as well as grandparents Brian and Lori Houghton, of Manchester, her aunt Julia and cousins Myra and Louis of Nashua, and her sister Ziggy, who taught Tuley all about a true sibling relationship.
Tuley is also mourned by an expansive fan club spanning several states and several generations, and her family expresses sincere thanks to the countless friends, family members, and total strangers who took some time to throw the frisbee for her.
Life is precious. We are here to honor all of it, including your beloved pets. You can submit a tribute to your dearly departed furry or feathered family members using our DIY submission feature.