Our Pets – Remembering Tikken (15JAN97 – 7FEB13)

It has been four years since Tikken crossed the Rainbow Bridge. When a furry companion passes, it has been my tradition to write a memorial. I still have not been able to sit down to write and bring closure to Tikken’s story. It is just too hard. What I am doing today is sharing the part of her story that I have already written.

<To be continued>

On, January 15th, 2011, our Golden Retriever Tikken (Mariner Freedom Fighter) celebrated her fourteenth birthday. Over the years many have asked, “Why Tikken?” Some people have thought it is because as a puppy she was like a clock and always “ticking.” There is a deeper story to Tikken’s name and this year through the miracle of Google I was able to learn more about Tikken’s namesake.

Tikken was born on Martin Luther King Day in 1997. Due to her birthdate, Tikken’s breeders, Jon and Kathy Chase of Mariner Kennels, named this litter of pups the “Freedom litter.” They asked that all of us receiving a pup use the word “Freedom” in their AKC registered name. After giving it some thought, I decided on “Mariner Freedom Fighter.” Outside of dogs one of my interests has always been World War Two, especially the resistance movement. Members of the resistance were commonly called “freedom fighters.”

I next had to choose Tikken’s call name and wanted something I could connect to her registered name. An early thought was to call her “Kira,” after Kira Nerys, a character on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, who was a former member of the Bajoran resistance. I then decided that I wanted to name my pup after a real female resistance fighter. Since I am half-Norwegian and have been particularly interested in the resistance movement in Norway during World War Two, I decided to see if I could identify a Norwegian female resistance fighter to be my inspiration. Not sure where to go I went to an email list for Golden Retriever fans on the internet, and a Norwegian member of the list suggested the name “Tikken.”

This year I finally learned more about my Tikken’s namesake via Google and the translation of a review of the book Tikken Manus by Nora Campbell.

Tikken is named after Norwegian freedom fighter and patriot, “Antiquity” Ida Nikoline Lie Lindebrække, who was nicknamedTikken.”  During the war, she worked as a secretary at the British legation in Stockholm, Sweden where she was a principal intermediary between the Norwegian resistance in the Company Linge and the British military. For her efforts during the war, Tikken was decorated with King Haakon VII’s Freedom Medal. Tikken later married Max Manus, one of the leaders of Company Linge.

 

Tikken Lindebrække as a child
Tikken Lindebrække and Max Manus
Tikken and Max Manus 1950
Tikken and Max Manus in 1995.

 

Tikken Manus in 2008

Recommended Resources

Articles on Don’s Blog (http://www.words-woofs-meows.com)

 

Tikken – Vaccines, Aggression & Homeopathyhttp://blog.greenacreskennel.com/2014/10/06/complementary-medicine-tikken-vaccines-aggression-homeopathy/

 

 

 

©7FEB17, Donald J. Hanson, All Rights Reserved <Click for Copyright and Use Policy>