Tail End beginnings…
It all started with a yellow dog named Tucson. She was sweet and smart and always up for an adventure. She loved hiking and patrolling the yard and a good road trip, no matter the distance or final destination. She was a beautiful and kind and comforting friend.

And then one night when she was about 12 years old, Tucson had a seizure. And then another. The doctor called it idiopathic epilepsy, and she would be on medication for the rest of her life. Her mom and I didn’t know how long that might be, but twice a day, with love in our hearts, we sneaked her pills into a spoonful of peanut butter for over a year and a half.

We knew the end would one day come, and at some point, it occurred to me that this cherished member of our family deserved more than just a photo or two and a couple sentences about how she was the sweetest, kindest, and cutest dog of all time in a trite social media post to inform our friends and family of our loss.

She deserved a proper obituary to mark her life. So, I wrote one.

After posting it and receiving so many nice comments and messages and even cards in our mailbox, I realized that there were many dog moms and cat dads out there like me, but perhaps not all of them were comfortable with writing or had a background editing obituaries or possessed the time or capacity for such an endeavor at such a difficult time. Maybe those pet owners could use my help one day.

And here we are: in “when one door closes, another door opens” fashion, Tail End came to be. It was our beloved Tucson’s final act of kindness.

J. Wilson, Chief Pet Obituarist

The author of four books and numerous national magazine articles, Chief Pet Obituarist J. Wilson spent six years as the editor of a small weekly newspaper, where one of his duties was editing obituaries. Though his career path has meandered over the years from writing to education, social work, and the beer industry, when his dog Tucson passed away in the summer of 2024, he quickly realized he possessed a unique skill set that he should be sharing with pet lovers across the world. Shortly thereafter, Tail End was born. While not writing pet obits, J. can be found backpacking, biking, reading, cooking, or listening to music.