We adopted Bessie 5 years ago just after her 10th birthday. She was the product of divorce and had moved from home to home of various family members for 7 years and no one in the family could continue to provide a loving home. She was set to be euthanized as a special needs senior with separation anxiety, and incontinence.

I picked her up in Clinton, CT on the way back from visiting a friend at Lake Hopatcong, NJ. It was a Sunday afternoon, that August 4th. Bessie was being tormented by the 5 year old, harried pregnant mom trying to give info and sign release papers. Poor girl trembled but never uttered a sound in the several hour trip to her temporary foster home.

We kept her for the requisite week and I still needed time to get her calm enough to be considered for adoption. We threw firsbees several times a day to get her moving and the incontinence cleared. With the loving stable environment, I weaned her off her doggie Prozac and my husband lost his heart and she came to be a member of the family with us keeping her rather than sending her on to another "forever home".

On Monday, she lost her battle with aging (deaf, blind, spinal degeneration and loss of the use of her hind legs) and Bessie crossed the Rainbow brige at 9:30 in the morning and now rests beneath the spreading dogwood tree in the back yard next to Hannah, her predessor in our home. My heart is sad but I know she is comfortable once again.

Awwwww. I'm so sorry. There she is, looking like she just had a grooming....
soooo pretty.

I'll ask my Fritzy, Augie and Sugar to watch out for her. I hope they're not
to frisky for her.

She had a good life living with you and David. A very lucky little Pup. And
now she is out of pain and prancing around once again. I'd like to think that,
anyways.

So Sorry for your loss,

((((((Cherie)))))),

I'm sorry that you lost your friend. She's a beautiful, distinguished lady, isn't she

It's so hard to let our fur-babies go. Their lives are so much shorter than ours

I thank G-d though, Cherie, that you rescued her from an intolerable situation and gave her many more years of feeling loved and feeling cared about and feeling wanted.

I'll say a quiet prayer for Bessie tonight.

Barb

PS: Bessie was my Grandma's name

Mine too, Barb..

CHERIE!!!!
How nice to see you! But, I'm SO sorry for your loss. It sounds as if Bessie was very lucky to have both you and your husband in her life. I know that our pets become just as endearing as our own family, so it's horrific to lose them. You and your husband are in my thoughts.

Give yourself some time and perhaps you may want to rescue another dog from similar circumstances (although it's hard to believe that people can treat a pet like that).

I hope you are faring well otherwise. It's good to see you posting again.

All the best,
Chris

This is so sad. I'm so sorry you have lost her. But grateful she had a loving caring home her last few days. I'm sitting here looking at my little Cami and hoping I will outlive her. Knowing she had to go thru all of the above would break my heart.

Thank you so much for doing all you did for her. That sweet little face says it all.

Billye

Aw how sad! But how lucky for the doggie to have wonderful people like you in it's remaining time here!

Thanks guys. I got a lovely letter from her first owner today. Had a very old address for her and tracked it through reverse address to find a phone number and it was still current. She is devastated but not surprised. She thought Bessie would have died a couple or three years ago and has avoided sending holiday cards the last two years as she thought she's hear that her friend was no longer with us and it would ruin the holidays. I wrote her back a couple of hours ago and scanned in a dozen photos and printed them to mail her.

Bessie needed a grooming then ...didn't just have one. She was so "proper "and prim. Didn't seem happy unless she had a bandana on and would generally choose a pink or red one if she had a choice. This photo in blue was David's try at getting her away from the "girly pink". We buried her with her bandanas.

I tried to give all of her grooming stuff and bowls and bed and coat back to rescue and got a letter from the president of the group (there are only 85 of us to serve all of the New England, NY, NJ, PA area and into southern Ontario) and he said the same thing...maybe you'll foster another someday...keep the things.

Blessings on you for understanding.



she loved the snow!

Awwwwww! She looks like a Brittany Spaniel. My cousins have one. She was darling.

She's a Springer...slightly larger, far more silky, and a bit more stuck up! Also much more maintenance on coat and grooming. Lots of dog hair no more being shed