He was a really great dog.....

Such a cute little puppy! But watch out - he bites!!

Yes, our old Angus is gone. It has been over a week now and we are learning to live without our buddy. 15 1/2 is really old for a basset hound - we had many wonderful years with him. In the end, he still rallied, taking one last walk to sniff his favorite haunts before we took him to town to be put down. He fell down several times but got right back up and kept on going as best he could on that last poignant walk. He was a dog with heart and he sure took ours.... We lost him to advanced lymphoma that had a very rapid onset.

He wasn't our first basset hound but he was the smartest. He was a rescue dog - we were his fourth home when he was just 21 weeks old. That kind of thing really traumatizes a pet. When we saw him and the conditions he had to live in, we had to take him home - and home was 250 miles away! We had lost our last basset hound just a few months prior and weren't going to do this again - but we did....

We were supposed to get this dog, we know that as we look back at our shared time together. He had many challenges in his life - and so did we, with him! As a puppy, he kept coming up lame and he was diagnosed with soft cartilage in his joints and we had to keep him contained for months in hopes that it would harden, otherwise we would need to see an orthopedic specialist. After about six months he was finally better. And he was a wild child! He ate everything in our yard - the hoses, sprinklers, Malibu lights and the drip system. The vet said he wouldn't be surprised if he gnawed on the side of the house! Besides being so oral, he was also very alpha and the pecking order was created and maintained for his entire life. I was able to be alpha dog because I was with him the most and fed him, he was second dog and poor Tramp 1 was third dog, something that Angus made certain he was always aware of. I would have to go out in the yard to rescue poor Tramp 1 who was trying to walk with a dog's mouth hanging onto his ankle. Even having taken obedience classes twice (and doing very well!) they still struggled together.

From all this came many names. He came to us as Fred and we named him Angus - our other guy was Amos and we thought with similar names he would still come if we called him by the wrong name! And Angus certainly fit him - he was a very stubborn dog. We also lovingly called him Feral Festus, Devil Dog, Lucifer and others. When he literally died on the table while having his teeth cleaned, he earned the name Lazarus. Most folks would have put him down then - he had a 50 percent chance of surviving whatever went wrong and he was partially blind and would not move. We had to bring him home that way and he had forgotten everything - his name, his home, the doggie door, etc. It took 11 days for him to remember his name and we had to teach him everything all over again. But we loved him and were grateful that he survived. The vet said that whatever happened might have aged him and he might not live a long life. After that we protected him fiercely - he was the dog in the bubble. It was decided that he was a reactor and we had to carry Benadryl everywhere we went with him. And he traveled in style - we got a big Ford Crew Cab and strapped an airline kennel in the backseat for him. We took him with us as much as we could but sometimes we had to leave him at the kennel and he loved it there. He really enjoyed all the excitement and the other dogs.

There were various health issues for Angus through the years, but nothing like 2005 when he had his tail bitten by a K-9 cop German Shepard at the kennel. Long story short, after weeks of bleeding and bandages, he ended up having to have the tip of his tail amputated and we weren't certain he would survive the surgery. But, of course, he did. And then a few month later he herniated a disk and was partially paralyzed. Again, others would have put him down, but we did not. I became his rear legs 24/7, using a sling I made out of old wool socks. It was tough going because Tramp 1 also herniated a disk and had to have surgery. But old Angus made it again and within six months, he was walking alone - wobbly on the back - but still going. We were able to wean him off all medication, too, and we accepted our life with a disabled dog. And due to the tail injury and back problems, he could no longer use a doggie door and lost his freedom - or should I say I lost my freedom!

So we all grew together in a new way with a "garage" dog, living in his kennel and being walked four times a day, minimum. This created a bond with him for Tramp 1 and they finally became buddies. But he still wouldn't share his biscuits!!

As Angus aged, he slowed down and so did we, adjusting to his needs. We did not realize how slow we were all going until we got around other dogs and remembered an Angus that could run and jump. But we relished having a super senior dog - a testament to the good care from his vets and from us. Who would have ever thought that mean little puppy would be with us for so many wonderful years.

And now we are alone, no more dog breath or begging barks. No sweet old dog to pet when you are feeling down. Just the memories of a wonderful 15 1/2 years of growing old together with a really great dog....