Christmas Eve, 1999. We made our routine late day trip to the barn to check on the horses, cats, and dogs. As we entered the open bay of the barn where we stored the hay for the week’s feeding, we stumbled across a battered and worn-out female beagle. Her feet were cut and bleeding; she was dehydrated and obviously starving. The only sound she made was a small whimper as I picked her up and carried her further back into the barn, away from the cold wind at the entrance.
We made her a makeshift bed from straw and some old shirts; set out a bowl of softened food and some clean, fresh water, and left her to mend.
We had no idea where she came from, or where she belonged. Only that she had found sanctuary (as have so many others) at our humble little farm.
We checked on her through the night. She never ventured off that ratty, scratchy bed. Early on Christmas Day, she made an appearance at front of the barn, still bedraggled, but with a sparkle back in her eyes.
She steadily improved in the coming weeks; gained weight, ate and drank well. And, she stayed right there. She took over the barn, herded the other critters as she saw fit, and ‘schooled’ any of them she thought might need it.
She fit right in.
And, of course...that distinctive beagle bray/bark was music (kinda) to our ears whenever we returned from our errands and other short trips.
In the following three years, she gave us two litters of pups... One whole group (seven) out of the second litter ended up going to a local training operation to become companion pets for developmentally disabled children. They are all still working and doing wonderful work. From the first litter, we have two of them here with us. Our son has one, and the other two went to family friends with small children.
We named her Missy, and she was a truly wonderful light in our lives.
Our deepest sympathy to your family on your loss.
My wife and I have had two beagles. The day I took the first to be put down (cancer) was one of the worst of my life. Now we have a second who is just starting to show some white on his snout... breaks my heart to think about losing him in a few years. Hopefully he’ll live long and turn white from head to toe, like one I saw at the kennel where we got our first dog.
Very sorry for your loss.