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.
Sophie came to B.O.N.E.S. in the spring of 2016, surrendered by a young owner who could not make time for her and whose family had apparently separated Sophie from her litter at a very young age. This pretty "lemon" beagle was said to have never interacted with other dogs. Her surrendering owner also cautioned that Sophie "hated" to be cuddled or picked up, and that she probably wouldn't bond with her new foster beagle "siblings," B.O.N.E.S. adoptees Fitch and Pinta.
Sophie proved otherwise. She readily settled into the household routine, sharing the den sofa with Fitch and Pinta, joining both on their daily walks, and making friends with neighbors and their pets. Within a couple of days, she began to seek ear scratches and belly rubs, and she discovered that responding to "sit," "come," "wait," and "let's get ready" would be rewarded by Charlee Bear treats from a jar on the kitchen counter. Her piercing beagle howl signaled her dislike of being alone, and she quickly learned to emulate Fitch, who had claimed the "loudest bark or bay" trophy at his own first Beagle Bash. Indeed, her howl was her undoing: adopted by a wonderful B.O.N.E.S. veteran adopter, she was returned to foster care less than three weeks later, after neighbors complained of her barking while her adopter was at work. So back she came, but this time as a "foster failure" after Fitch died just before Christmas.
Bothered too early by arthritis despite the ministrations of a wonderful vet, Sophie nonetheless clearly enjoyed "mothering" successive foster dogs, bonding especially closely with Sheldon. Until Pinta died at 18-1/2, she and Pinta shared the human bed by night and patrolled the fenced yard by day, even after Pinta's healing CCL tear and Sophie's arthritis limited longer neighborhood walks. In 2018, the arrival of Donnie ("advertised" by a surrendering shelter as a 13" beagle, but in reality a full-grown senior coonhound), brought new challenges – another dog who had never known a household routine or affection from a human family. Sophie "taught" him to share spaces and treats, and she lay happily on her back on the kitchen floor as Donnie "groomed" her face with his tongue. In 2019, she welcomed Maizey, a sweet senior whose owner had died far too young and whom she helped to accept the sudden changes in her life. Donnie and Maizey became her new "pack," comfortable and happy companions through months of COVID lockdowns.
As she aged, Sophie's arthritis deformed her front limbs and weakened her back ones. But she remained engaged and determined, accepting being carried at the hardest times and then somehow recovering to climb the steep steps in an antique house. The sound of meals being readied never failed to bring her – actually running, and then dancing as best she could next to her "slow feeder" bowl. Never physically domineering, she unerringly made her wishes known, each evening leading her pack on a final trip to the yard before heading upstairs and barking incessantly until Donnie and Maizey joined her to lick dabs of peanut butter from their "good night bones" and claim favorite places for the night.
But in the midst of a July heatwave, worsening symptoms signaled that this time and despite her valiant efforts, Sophie could not rally, and her eyes showed her acceptance that her time had come. And so, as she lay in her favorite spot in the den, accepted the cuddles she had long since come to enjoy, and heard yet again how much she was loved and what a special girl she was, the wonderful house call vet who had cared for her from the time she arrived, eased her way.
Rest easy, little Sophie, and know how special it was to help you enjoy six years of fun with canine friends and the security of a loving home. And know what a privilege it was to admire your pluck and spirit for all those years.
Ibby Nathans
