Anteater
06-26-24, 06:27 PM
Sorry for the long post, but I'd like to share some words about the best dog ever. His name was Beau.
Rick and I grew up with dogs and loved them, but for many years, we were too busy with our careers to give a dog the care and attention that it deserved. For awhile, we also spent a fair amount of time going to races. Then Champ Car went under, and we found ourselves staying home more. Our careers were winding down, too.
At around the same time, our nephew and his girlfriend rescued a dog, a Boglen Terrier (a beagle/Boston Terrier "designer dog" mix) who was just a delight to have around. They went on a trip, leaving Tux in our care for a week. By the end of that week, we didn't want to give him back! We decided that we wanted to rescue a Tux of our own. I went online at Petfinder, trying to find a Boglen Terrier in need of a home, and found one...at a rescue shelter in Scottsdale Arizona, over 400 miles away. By a lucky coincidence, though, a good friend was going to Scottsdale that weekend, and she offered to check out the puppy for us. Long story short, she met the puppy, loved him, wrote the check, loaded him into her minivan, and we were soon the happy dog-parents of 7-month-old Beau.
There was an interesting adjustment period in store for all of us; I hadn't owned a puppy in 20 years, and had forgotten how much work they were, and how much trouble they were capable of getting into! But eventually Beau matured into a mostly well-behaved dog, except around food (that was the beagle part coming out), and for reasons that weren't clear, he despised huskies and yellow labs, and let everyone know it. Beau was also terrified of riding in vehicles, no matter what we tried to get him comfortable with it. Other than that, he was perfect.
12 years went by. Beau had a delicate digestive system, starting with a bout of pancreatitis when he was a year-and-a-half old, but it was easily managed with a low-fat, prescription-food diet. Suddenly that wasn't enough, though, and he required an even more restricted diet, corticosteroids, and a drug that is given to transplant patients to prevent organ rejection. Beau lost a over a third of his body weight from the meds, and was no longer the muscular, athletic dog who could easily jump onto couches, and beds. He would never be able to enjoy morsels of Costco roast chicken breast again, due to food allergies. But for all that, he was still our loving, playful, and beautiful Beau; the main differences were that his naps got longer, and his walks around the neighborhood became shorter.
On May 4, we celebrated 15 years of having Beau in our lives; sadly, we began seeing a decline in Beau's condition shortly thereafter. There were a couple of trips to the vet, and each time, he'd have an adjustment in medications, and then he'd rally. But last Thursday morning, Beau collapsed and couldn't walk or eat. There was one final trip to the vet, where we learned that he was beyond all help. It was absolutely heart-rending to give permission for euthanasia, but we knew that it was the right thing to do. We stayed with him to the end.
Now there's a Beau-shaped hole in our lives. We keep imagining that we see him on his dog bed in the living room, or impatiently waiting in the hallway for his meal (oh, how he loved to eat!). I miss hearing the "thumpa-thump" as he launched himself onto our "Giant Dog Bed" in the morning, followed by intensely-focused licking of my wrist. Yesterday, I thought I heard him rattling the screen door to go out. Home is a sadder, emptier place, but we are so grateful for all the years of joy and love that we had with Beau.
Rick and I grew up with dogs and loved them, but for many years, we were too busy with our careers to give a dog the care and attention that it deserved. For awhile, we also spent a fair amount of time going to races. Then Champ Car went under, and we found ourselves staying home more. Our careers were winding down, too.
At around the same time, our nephew and his girlfriend rescued a dog, a Boglen Terrier (a beagle/Boston Terrier "designer dog" mix) who was just a delight to have around. They went on a trip, leaving Tux in our care for a week. By the end of that week, we didn't want to give him back! We decided that we wanted to rescue a Tux of our own. I went online at Petfinder, trying to find a Boglen Terrier in need of a home, and found one...at a rescue shelter in Scottsdale Arizona, over 400 miles away. By a lucky coincidence, though, a good friend was going to Scottsdale that weekend, and she offered to check out the puppy for us. Long story short, she met the puppy, loved him, wrote the check, loaded him into her minivan, and we were soon the happy dog-parents of 7-month-old Beau.
There was an interesting adjustment period in store for all of us; I hadn't owned a puppy in 20 years, and had forgotten how much work they were, and how much trouble they were capable of getting into! But eventually Beau matured into a mostly well-behaved dog, except around food (that was the beagle part coming out), and for reasons that weren't clear, he despised huskies and yellow labs, and let everyone know it. Beau was also terrified of riding in vehicles, no matter what we tried to get him comfortable with it. Other than that, he was perfect.
12 years went by. Beau had a delicate digestive system, starting with a bout of pancreatitis when he was a year-and-a-half old, but it was easily managed with a low-fat, prescription-food diet. Suddenly that wasn't enough, though, and he required an even more restricted diet, corticosteroids, and a drug that is given to transplant patients to prevent organ rejection. Beau lost a over a third of his body weight from the meds, and was no longer the muscular, athletic dog who could easily jump onto couches, and beds. He would never be able to enjoy morsels of Costco roast chicken breast again, due to food allergies. But for all that, he was still our loving, playful, and beautiful Beau; the main differences were that his naps got longer, and his walks around the neighborhood became shorter.
On May 4, we celebrated 15 years of having Beau in our lives; sadly, we began seeing a decline in Beau's condition shortly thereafter. There were a couple of trips to the vet, and each time, he'd have an adjustment in medications, and then he'd rally. But last Thursday morning, Beau collapsed and couldn't walk or eat. There was one final trip to the vet, where we learned that he was beyond all help. It was absolutely heart-rending to give permission for euthanasia, but we knew that it was the right thing to do. We stayed with him to the end.
Now there's a Beau-shaped hole in our lives. We keep imagining that we see him on his dog bed in the living room, or impatiently waiting in the hallway for his meal (oh, how he loved to eat!). I miss hearing the "thumpa-thump" as he launched himself onto our "Giant Dog Bed" in the morning, followed by intensely-focused licking of my wrist. Yesterday, I thought I heard him rattling the screen door to go out. Home is a sadder, emptier place, but we are so grateful for all the years of joy and love that we had with Beau.