This section is devoted to our beloved dogs who are waiting at the Rainbow Bridge. If you would like to include a tribute to your B.O.N.E.S. beagle(s) that crossed to Rainbow Bridge, please send your story and/or photo(s) to tributes@bonesbeagles.org.
Read all of the tributes by paging through them below or click on a name to go to a specific article.
What do you say about your best friend and the most steadfast of companions? Let me tell you about Ethel!
Ethel had a rough start in life; as best we can tell she was either a breeding dog or puppy mill dog in Indiana. She was eventually sent to Rescue Farms Shelter in Eliotsville, IN and was released from there on February 1, 2006 to Libby's Senior Haven. She was adopted out while at Libby's and returned because she was said to be too "beagly." Ethel went from Libby's into B.O.N.E.S. care sometime in March, 2007.
Ethel blossomed under the care of the Mary Clare and Doug Springer; she happily lived with her foster brothers and learned how to be a good doggie citizen.
On July 21, 2007, Ethel came to live with us. She filled a huge hole that was left in our hearts from the loss of our beloved B.O.N.E.S. beagle Jasper. And she blossomed! Ethel quickly became familiar with the neighborhood and the neighbors along with their dogs and cats. At first she was tentative and very wary of men we would meet while walking. It was so rewarding to see her confidence grow over time and finally it seemed everyone she encountered was a potential friend. Our favorite walks were up to the woods in the Middlesex Fells Reservation and to Horn Pond. I swear sometimes she was psychic – I would just have to look at her when we got near the street to the woods and she'd look at me and off we'd go into the woods sniffing and arooing.
Ethel saw me through the best and worst of times over the past seven years. She rejoiced with me when we welcomed my son-in-law into the family and were overjoyed with the arrival of my grandson Bennett in January, 2012. Although I have to say she remained somewhat wary of Bennett – he just moves SO fast, but he does drop food from the table!
She showed what she was made of when the going got tough. Over the years she saw me through the illness and passing of my husband Dan, my Dad and my Mom as well as the loss of two jobs. Through it all she was at my side. Dad came to live with us when Mom went to the nursing home; he was always wary with dogs. I happened to be in the kitchen and I heard him speaking to someone in the living room – I looked in and found him pouring his heart out to her. In the six months he was with us they developed the most special of bonds. When he passed, she used to jump on his bed and uncover his pillow and sleep on it.
Over the past year or so she started to slow down. As best we could tell, she was 14 or 15. On the weekends she would wake up at our regular weekday schedule and come up and "give me the paw" – tapping me on the shoulder to announce that it was time to get up and start the day. Saturday mornings she led me downtown to the local gas station because they open at 6 on Saturday mornings and have a big box of treats. She'd trot right up to the door and announce her presence.
She was the best of friends and I will miss her forever and remain so grateful to have spent 7 years with her.
Sweet dreams, Miss E.
