The goodtime girl is gone. Suzi is dead. She had lymphoma, could barely eat and was in pain. She was put to sleep by a veterinarian in Ocala and her passing was very peaceful. Her mother Lucy was at her side. Suzi Tobias was 13 years old, a boxer- Golden Retriever mix that thought everyone she met was her newest best friend. When she met you, she’d try and twist herself into a pretzel. That was her way of saying she was glad to see you.
Born in Ocala National Forest on Oct. 11, 1994, her boxer mother was supposed to be bred to another boxer but met a Golden Retriever instead. She is survived by two sisters who live in Ocklawaha with Erika Ritter. The whereabouts of her four brothers, all adopted, are not known.
Her forever family in Ocala includes Mom Lucy, a stepsister Annie, five years younger, and her feline pack currently consisting of Amy, Tito and Grace. A story about her aging and illness can be found in an earlier bog below. See “Saturdays Past” on the right in 2005 for a sweet tale from her youth – about the day Suzi danced with butterflies.
This photo of Suzi in her younger days was taken by Alan Youngblood of the Star Banner. Suzi was dressed in pearls and a flower for a feature story on dressing up your dog. Alan had her complete attention because he was most generous with the dog biscuits.
Suzi loved to swim and run. She and her mom did many 5k races together. Suzi could have won first place if she had a better human runner. She looked forward to going to the beach but lakes, rivers and wading pools were fine too.
Her mission in life was to keep Mom close at all times, and that meant going from room to room which got much harder towards the end. With the exception of the last two weeks of her life, Suzi never had an unhappy day in her life, something many people cannot say for their time here on earth.
She has crossed the Rainbow Bridge and can now be ageless. She will be eternally happy running free, off lead, forever.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society of Marion County, P.O. Box 1542, Ocala, Fl. 34478-1542.