Swiss Lick Swissies

Rest In Peace, Dear Beowulf

Thursday, January 6th, 2011 | Beowulf

Today is a very sad day in my house. Beowulf, who turned 14 in October, went to the Bridge.

Beowulf was my first dog. He was a pet store dog (I know, I’m sorry) that Dan purchased for our first Christmas together in 1996. I’m not sure if I ever told Dan this, but I was annoyed at first. I wanted a rescue dog or a Beagle like Alex – but certainly not a Basset Hound! Dan had picked me up from the train one day before Christmas, and there was a wiggly box on the seat. That box held what would capture my heart and soul in about 2 seconds flat – a 3.5 month old Basset Puppy who was capable of tripping over his own ears.

Beowulf has been my rock over the years. He wasn’t quite the mother figure that Alex was (obviously – he was a boy), but he stayed by my side through good times and bad. Usually grunting to get me to rub him. Which I did. When I lost my father years ago, Beowulf curled up with me on the couch while I cried working hard to console me with love.

He survived Alex and even Gryffin – something I never thought would happen. He trained three Swissy puppies for us! (Thankfully, they didn’t pay attention to him for house training.) He’s been steadily declining over the past couple of months. We had a talk a few weeks ago – I told him it was ok if he was ready to go meet Gryffin at the Bridge. I thought we were going to lose him a week ago, but he held on. But he had a seizure tonight, and it was time. I am glad I was able to get him into our normal vet immediately instead of going to the animal hospital. I called, told them who I was, and they said to come right away.

Beowulf is now at peace. At least until he finds Gryffin and Alex and they start tearing the place apart.

I’ll miss you, Beowulf.

3 Comments to Rest In Peace, Dear Beowulf

Breanne and Bennet
January 7, 2011

Your post and pictures brought tears to my eyes. I’m so sorry to read about Beowulf. He was a lucky dog to have the forever home that he had (not EVERY dog gets a homemade birthday cake!).
*Thinking of you guys today*

Jodi
January 14, 2011

Beowulf was such a great dog. Grumpy or not, he was still awesome.

And on a happier note – is that DAN in the first picture?

SwissyHugger
January 14, 2011

Yup, that is Dan. And Alex is the lump of fur on the far right.

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