When my husband and I were ready to adopt a pup, the absolutely last breed I wanted to consider was a beagle. All descriptions of the breed said that’s not the dog for us…….until we met Haley. Haley was a 7-year old lemon beagle with a sunbeam personality. If that little girl’s eyes were open, her tail was waggin’. We were smitten.
Haley went with us everywhere we could take her. She loved to ride in the car, go for long daily walks, watch movies, entertain our friends, and protect us from the mail man. And, she made us laugh every day.
She was a smart girl. Haley was terrified of thunderstorms. At the slightest rumble, she would get as close to us as she could. As long as both sides of her were touching each of us, she was okay. To acclimate her to the sound of thunder, we bought a CD and played it on our computers. She outsmarted us, though. She would wake up at the first crack of thunder from that CD. But, she knew it was just a CD and would flop back down to continue her nap knowing that fake thunder couldn’t hurt her.
Haley was a real food hound and loved it when we entertained. She had a prehensile tongue that could reach to the farthest end of the table and snatch a treat. And, she was sneaky about it too. One afternoon, I hosted a ladies’ tea. For dessert, I served little cakes on a cake plate. There was one little tea cake left on the cake plate when we all decided to take a walk in the garden. When we returned to the table, I noticed that the tea cake was GONE, but not a crumb was disturbed on the table. The phantom Haley had struck!
One night, our sweet girl had a stroke brought on by congestive heart failure. She came out of it on her own but had such a hard time breathing normally despite medication. After a week, we knew she was suffering. We had to make that hard decision, and that last ride with her to the vet’s office darned near killed me. She loved riding in the car almost as much as she loved food! She was a happy girl right up to the end.
We only had Haley for a few short but very happy years. She left a hole in my heart when she travelled to the Rainbow Bridge that I fill with happy memories of a wonderful dog. I know that Heaven sparkles so much brighter because she is there.