Beaglet

Beaglet (BB) has been with my husband and I since the end of the summer of 2004. She loves it here, and we love having her here. It took her no time to adjust. My husband adores her, and I am starting to think she likes him more than me, HA…

Beaglet has a certain routine everyday that she like to stick with, she likes to sleep in a little bit, (there are many times we are up and she is still in our bed cuddled under the blankets). If it is a work day for us, she gets up and eats then she goes to Nana's house for the day, then almost every night we take her to her friend Sammy's house (my aunt's dog, which they live on a farm) where they run around and play for the evening. Beaglet loves attention, and loves to play Hide-N-Go-Seek. She is really good at it, and my husband and I laugh, and laugh. A lot of times on the weekend she will do a sleep over at Sammy's house, where they play and they have a pool if they get hot. When we pick her up she tells us all about her day, she sounds so cute when she howls and talks to us. When she is not at Nanas and Sammy's she is by my husband's side, observing everything he does. We love Beaglet very much, and she loves us.

Thanks Again B.O.N.E.S, we will keep in touch,

-Robert, Annemarie, and Beaglet (6/05)

Sir Rufus

In July 2004, BONES was contacted about a Beagle Boy in need of a new forever home. A plea went out to the BONES volunteers with a list of Beagles in need of foster homes. Rufus was one of them.

RUFUS - 7yo male, very sweet, laid back and quiet. Rufus was found tied to the front door of a shelter, so we have no formal background on him. The shelter staff loves him and reports him to be clean in his kennel(probably house trained) and very easy going. Rufus is good with other dogs and cats.

For some reason when I saw the post for Rufus, it touched my heart, I had fostered in the past but usually females since the senior male of the house "Gus" did not like to share his space with other senior males. Gus had passed away very suddenly in July of 2003 and I was very much missing him since it was coming up on the anniversary of his death.

I contacted Leanne Parks, BONES Intake Coordinator and inquired about Sir Rufus. The transport was arranged for Saturday July 10th 2004 and I was going to be a guest at the home of another great BONES volunteer Yvonne Vecchia, our Foster Supply Coordinator. Ann Joyce, yet another BONES volunteer, offered to do the last leg of the transport since she lived close by to Yvonne.

When Rufus and Ann arrived at Yvonnes's, we all went out to greet him. My first thought was "what a handsome boy"! My second thought was hmmmmmm he looks a little older than 7. Poor Rufus could not walk very well, his back end was pretty weak and he had rotten teeth and dirty ears. I could not wait to get him home and give him a bath and have my vet check him out. I helped him into my car and he curled up in the back seat and off we went on our new adventure together to Martha's Vineyard Island, MA where I live.

My vet fit us in right away and informed me that Rufus was probably about 12-14 years old. Anyone that knows me, knows I have an affinity for the senior Beagles as my very first rescue was Baxter who could have been as old as 15..another nice person that called BREW NE to say she had a 7-8 year old stray Beagle at her home:) Needless to say Baxter spent his last nine months of life with me and my vet has fond memories of him too. She saved his life in the middle of the night, giving him another 6 months to live..and boy did he make the most of those 6 months.

Everyone knew that Rufus would soon be a member of the Amaral Clan. Everyone except me that is. Mind you I already had 3 Beagles and a Mini Dachshund (another 2 foster failure Beagles) at home so I had no intention of having a fifth dog. Poor Rufus had 2 seizures right at the vet's office that day after they cleaned his teeth and ears and got him all dolled up. He had a cancerous growth removed from his chin and needed the stitches out for that. He tested positive for Lyme Disease and went on Antibiotics and we later discovered he had a severe hernia that caused blockages for him so he had to be on a special laxative as well as seizure medication. He also had a heart murmur that was just about as bad as it gets.

It was not looking too good for Sir Rufus. However, with the right medication and lots of TLC from me and the Amaral hounds, he started to feel better and become more youthful.. He started playing like a puppy again with my youngest BONES Beagle, Miss Ally. They became instant best friends and have been inseparable ever since. Needless to say on 10/31/04, I officially adopted Rufus. I wondered why no one was surprised when I told them the news.

Recently Rufus had to go on 2 different heart medications for Congestive Heart Failure but that has not slowed him down at all. He still plays with Ally like crazy and races around the back yard howling at anything that catches his scent drive, and that is just about everything! He is a true hunter! Boy does he have an old hound dog bark....I thought they said he was quiet..NOT!

I am looking forward to July 10, 2005 as we will have one heck of a celebration for Rufus' first anniversary as a member of the Amaral pack. Perhaps Yvonne will invite all of us to her house so we can have a reenactment of his original arrival!

Rufus had quite the fan club on the website as I posted many pictures of the progress he was making. I got so many emails when he was sick and he was taken off the website for awhile. Before long he was back by popular demand! Thanks to all who sponsored Rufus and sent well wishes during the last year. He really appreciates it!

I truly believe that it was fate that brought Rufus into my life. I think Gus and Baxter had a little to do with it. I cannot imagine life without him now. Nothing like a Senior Rescue Beagle to put a little "hound" in your heart!

Sincerely,

Pam, Gerty, Oscar, Annie, Ally and Rufus Amaral

Thelma & Silver

Maya (formerly Thelma), and Rex (formerly Silver) came to us on September 23, 2006, and since then we have been having SO MUCH FUN with them. After a short adjustment period, they were already sleeping with us in our room and running pretty freely around the house. Maya likes to cuddle with anyone - including Rex - and Rex is a pretty independent due who would rather have a rawhide any day. Sometimes Maya uses Rex as a step-stool, particularly when Mitch or I am just coming home and they are excited to see us - but usually they get along great and play together well.

Everyone who meets them loves them - as I've heard them called before, they are the "odd couple" - but both are sweet and a lot of fun. Of course, they are more like brother and sister each day - they steal each other's toys, dig holes to hide the other's raw hides, and chase after each other in the yard. Let's not even go into the sniffing!

Thank you, BONES, for bringing us all together!

Luann and Mitch Edwards
November 2006

Jake

Jake joined the family as the third beagle, the one I said I would never have. Two beagles was enough - they used up both my hands on a walk. Where would the third one go?

Well, I saw his photo on the BONES web site and fell in love. He joined us for a week and decided to stay. Max and Ruffles agreed with his decision and we are now three beagles and 1 adult - a great family!

The unique thing about Jake is that he is blind - totally blind. Everyone thinks we are joking when they meet him - he gets along so well no one can believe he is blind. He memorized the house and yard within two days. He knows where the toy basket is as well as all the available dog beds (and human beds and couches!). Blindness is no problem for him!

Thanks to BONES for taking him into the program, letting us get to know him and providing the resources to help me adjust - he did not need the help! Please feel free to give out my contact information for those thinking of adopting a handicapped pet!

Marsha, Max, Ruffles and Jake (6/2005)

Kramer

HI!
I'm kramer and i have been living in my new home for about 2 months now and I've adjusted great! My family consists of a mom and a daughter. I always hang out with the daughter - her and me are pals! I have a new back yard were I can go lay in the grass and hang out.and of course i love to EAT! I also love to take naps and go for walks.

Note from my family:
Kramer has been a great dog and we are so glad we got him. My daughter loves him and he never leaves her side! He is so well trained and well behaved!

Aug 2005

Bradley

When I applied to adopt a Beagle, I had requested a little Beagle that I could pickup easily, even with my back problems... and that could go everywhere with me.... a tall request! On July 17, 2006, "Bradley" came to us as a Foster-to-Own... and he was such a perfect match for us, that he wanted us to be his "Forever Home". He is so sweet, and gentle that people love him everywhere we go. In the month that he’s been with us, he goes to work with us, he’s gone boating with us, been on long car rides, and just last week, he went on a fishing vacation to a quiet Maine lake with us. The housekeeping staff loved him, and took care of him while we went on fishing trips. He was so well behaved, that he earned "good dog" points and the camp owner waived the "dog care fee"! The resident Springer Spaniel adopted him as a "little brother" and invited him back next year! In fact,

I’m enclosing a picture of him that I took the day we got there, and one the night before we went home... all of us happy and tired! "Brad" has found a home with us and as each day passes, he is showing more of his good qualities. He never jumps on people, doesn’t chew on anything but his own rawhides, and doesn’t beg for scraps. He is a quiet companion with just enough couriosity to keep the cat looking over her shoulder! His favorite thing to do is go for walks, and roll in the grass. Starting next week, he will begin Basic Obedience, to teach me some of his leash skills. Thank you, BONES for matching us up!

Elaine & Allan, Orrington, Maine
August 2006

Jake

Jasper

From Jasper : Hi all ! I wanted to introduce you to Tina and Dan. They are my new family and I am so excited! :) They love me so much and I feel the same. My new "forever" home has four floors to constantly explore -- in search of new corners to hide my rawhide bone. I always supervise in the kitchen when Tina is cooking dinner in the quest for a dropped morsel of some sort! After dinner I relax on the couch between Tina and Dan until time for bed! Such a life! :)

From Us: Jasper is absolutely a wonderful little guy. He loves to walk and eat and then sleep --- not necessarily in that order! We are SO happy to be able to give Jasper his "forever" home. He is certainly enriching our lives already. We want to thank Marsha and Coco for their help in making our family complete. Sandy O'Neill deserves a special thanks for her efforts and diligence in being Jasper's latest foster mom. Thanks to you all and to everyone at BONES for all the good work that you do!

Thanks Marsha!

Dan and Tina Bellomy
January 2007