Almost 16 years ago my youngest daughter kept begging for a puppy , like all 12 year old girls would do....
My response was always the same.... "I don't want a dog...I don't have time for it!"... However, she assured me that she would take care of the puppy from house breaking it to cleaning up after it....so...I gave in ( as I knew I would )... We found an ad in the local paper for beagles for sale( yes, it was THAT long ago) and I sent her and my oldest daughter ( 22 years old at the time) to look them over and pick one out if they found them to be in good health...they came home with 2!!.. Neither girl could resist them! The only problem was that the oldest daughter had an apartment that didn't allow pets, so until her lease was up and she found a different place, I now had 2 Beagles.!!!... Fast forward...and Kristin did a GREAT job of house breaking them both and Kelli got a different apartment and took her puppy with her. Kristin did fantastic with "Bayleigh" through the years until she graduated high school and went off to college. While getting settled into her off campus apartment, I reminded her that she forgot to bring her dog along with her. .. She reminded me that she asked for a puppy...and since Bayleigh as now,a,dog, she was mine...( She said that with a smile and a wink...that's her sense of humor).. No way would a beagle survive campus life...lol...so, again fast forward and Kristin graduated college and moves to the Columbus (Ohio) area... (We live near the lake with lots of yard..I mow 2 acres) ... So she decided it was in bayleigh so best interest to stay with us...lol... Make no mistake...every time Kristins car pulls into the driveway, Bayleigh can tell, and is all,over Kristin the moment the door opens!
Bayleigh has had her health problems over the years... She has received 2 blood transfusions and also had surgery to repair a torn ACL......
Again, fast foreword to a July of this year, and she is found to have bladder cancer. ... The vet removed as much as she could and basically said Bayleighs time was limited...
Well.. This past week her health took a rapid decline! Thursday evening she couldn't go down the 3 steps to go outside, and by Sunday evening, it was all she could do to stand up... I have called the vet and will be taking her in this afternoon ... The vet feels it's "time". ... She said that Bayleigh is in pain and nothing she can really do...
Bayleigh was not our first dog....we had had a few by then.. I grew up on a mini farm with mostly horses ,and a few pigs and cows, cats dogs etc that they could visit with when visiting my parents..and my older girls had a Cocker Spaniel and a cat... So...
Kristin was home this weekend to say goodby....it was toooo emotional!!
16 years ago, I really didn't want a dog... Now ... I don't want to give her up....
