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Joachim (Adopted September, 1992 - March 25, 2008) A woman perceived as being in control stuns others when they see her mourning her lost dog as I am. My sadness has so totally overpowered my usual pragmatism and perspective now, that it may seem-- to some-- out of character.
Joachim - or more officially, “Joachim the Good Dog” as we liked to clarify - was no ordinary Beagle; he was, simply, a very special dog. Sweet and serene, he never growled, bit, or threatened. He loved people of all ages, other dogs, and even cats. And he also loved me, his adoptive “mother” of the past decade and a half. That I adored him goes without saying. I rescued him from the SPCA and he became my pet. I took him everywhere with me, nursed him when he was ill, fed him scraps from my dinner, walked him in rain, sleet and snow-- at all hours-- and tried to attend to his every need. In exchange, he gave me unquestioned devotion and a quiet and comforting companionship too precious to lose. Now it is lost.
There was a time when I might have pooh-poohed the sadness people described upon the death of their dogs. Sure, I would have thought, they’re sad, but they’ll get over it. After all, in the end, it’s a dog. I had no idea, before Joachim. When my rational side kicks in, I focus on the “important things” and on my many “blessings”. I am grateful for my good health, and for my loving family. I live a decent life and have much to be thankful for, in fact. But I miss my friend. I miss the sound of his steady breathing as he slept next to my bed, his wagging tail whenever he saw me, and the warmth of his body at my feet as we watched TV or read together in the evening. I miss his bark from the back seat, signaling me to open his window so he could drive with the breezes blowing back his velvet ears.
Our vet suggests another dog to fill the void. Despite his good intentions, the suggestion seems a bit like telling a parent who loses a child that, “It’s a good thing you have other children.” No living being can replace another that was loved and lost. For the moment, the idea feels like investing again in certain heartache. I don’t want. “another dog”; I want my Joachim back. And that can never be. - Mary Ann Sorrentino of Rhode Island ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buddy
Poor Buddy lost his battle to Lymphoma on June 14, 2006. He was our only foster failure. Never did we ever regret keeping him. He was so kind, gentle and patient. He always knew his place in the pack and never tried to push his way in. After a call from a friend to break out a Beagle who was on death row, I raced to the shelter to - The Church family of Rhode Island ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Max (February 21, 1997 - February 14, 2008) When I adopted Max in May of 1997, there were two puppies to choose from, both boys. I picked them both up and one wiggled and the other one licked my nose. Guess which one I picked? That's right; the nose licker became my Max.
He was your typical Beagle who liked to sniff and snooze. He was my first baby before husband and children. He adjusted well when I did get married. In fact I talked so much about Max on my first date with my husband that he thought Max was my son. My husband knew he had to pass the Max test and he did with flying colors. The two became inseparable. In 2005, he began to loose control of his bladder. After 2 months of worrying and tests, we learned that he had Cushing's Disease. Cushing's is a disease of the Pituitary/Adrenal gland that causes too much cortisol to be produced. There is no cure but there are treatment options that are very viable. Dogs, on average, live 2 years with Cushing's with a good quality of life. We opted for treatment and settled into life with our Cushinoid dog. He was a fighter, but 3 years after he was diagnosed, he took a turn for the worse, stopped eating and started hiding from us. I knew this was a sign that it was time to say goodbye. We said goodbye on Valentine's Day, 2008. I know he is over the Rainbow Bridge now and in a better place. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trapper January 22, 1994- August 11, 2008 Trapper came into our lives at 3 months old. He was my dog right from the start. I fell in love with him also. Whenever I had a bad day, he would come over to me and lay his head in my lap, and look at me with those big Beagle eyes, and my heart would melt. He was truly my buddy. Everyone who knew Trapper loved him, Trapper and his friend, Chris, our other Beagle, were best friends. They were always together. They both slept on the bed with my husband and me. When we lost Chris, August 16, 2004, Trapper was lost. He kept looking for Chris where they would always lay together in the living room. I truly believe that animals mourn as we do.
- Theresa Flanagan and family of Ballston Spa, NY
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(March 17, 1996 - January 25, 2008) My younger sister brought home a four-month-old Beagle puppy named Bagel. It was hard to resist those pleading eyes. Bagel loved people. He did not like being left home alone. As is the case with Beagles, he loved to go where his nose took him. Bagel hated squirrels. When I took him out on walks and we saw a squirrel, he would bark and bark. He felt that the squirrels were taunting him. Bagel had health issues, including a bad heart. Until we had to have Bagel euthanized on January 25, 2008, he was on medication to keep him comfortable. Despite his health issues, he was as outgoing and lovable as ever. - S Spolter of Granada Hills, CA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pokey (March 15, 1976 - January 9, 1993) Pokey was our dog when our first and second daughters came into this world. We went through a period of financial difficulty, but she was our faithful and loving companion through all the tough times. We made many mistakes with Pokey, not realizing the special needs of a Beagle. However, she forgave us our shortcomings and loved us anyway, as only a dog knows how to do. Pokey lived to be nearly 17 years old. But in the end, she had many complications because of her age, including pain from arthritis. Though we didn't want to lose her, we reluctantly made the decision to have Pokey put out of her misery. To this day, I still think about that wonderful little dog and tears come to my eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daisy (June 1, 1999 - September 13, 2008) Six and a half years after losing Pokey, we found another dog that we fell in love with. That was another Beagle, and we named her Daisy. We vowed that we would not make the same mistakes with Daisy as we had with Pokey, and we spoiled Daisy rotten. I have never seen another dog that could snore so loudly! Daisy was a hunter, and was very possessive about "her back yard". At only nine years of age, Daisy became listless one evening and would not eat her dinner. By the following morning, she could barely get up and was gasping for breath. I took her to the animal hospital where they examined and X-rayed her. The vet told us that Daisy's heart and liver were enlarged and her lungs were full of fluid. She was apparently going into painful cardiac arrest right in front of us. We once again made the terrible decision to have our beloved pet put down to end her suffering. The tragedy of Daisy's death was compounded by how suddenly and swiftly it had occurred. It was less than 24 hours from the time that she wouldn't eat her dinner to the time that we lost her. We will always love and miss Pokey and Daisy. I picture them now as two healthy puppies playing together in Heaven, their noses sniffing the ground, their ears flapping in the wind, and their tails wagging endlessly. I am thankful that through God's infinite wisdom, Beagles have been placed on this earth as a fragile but precious gift to humanity. Dogs may sometimes do bad things, but there is no such thing as a bad dog. - The Kobelkas of Saginaw, TX Ron, Roxanne, Melissa, and Melanie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adopted August 20, 2005 (October 20, 1996 - December 6, 2008)
"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." Well, Thomas, it is over,
- Michele Krause of New York "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Last week I had a total meltdown, in my car, in the garage, sobbing uncontrollably. I had just returned from doing a few errands when I realized - again - that my faithful companion of the last 16 years was forever gone from the back seat. 
Books are written about dogs and dog-lovers. Hollywood makes movies about dogs, their owners and the special bonds between them. Poems and essays also abound about the loss of faithful pets and the humans left behind to mourn them. 
I miss his constancy and, yes, the unquestioning love people talk about when they talk about great dogs. 
(May, 1999 - June 14, 2006)
pick him up. He had a slight heart murmur and was labeled "unadoptable". After six weeks in a cage on a cold cement floor, they decided his time was up.
I know that it was so hard to say goodbye to my buddy. I held him and kissed him as he passed. Our lives will never be the same. You are forever in our hearts. Until we meet again, my dear little Trapper.
Bagel
Thomas
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