Dog: Kandy (Beagle) Bradenton, Fl (05/16/1996 – 09/03/2009)
To our beloved Beagle, Kandy. I am writing this before I have to. I hope you will still be home when I get there so that I can read it to you.
Kandy, I remember the day that your mommy and I first saw you. You were not quite 8 weeks old. I picked you up, and you peed on me. Then I handed you to your future mommy, and you peed on her too! Wasn’t funny at the time, but has been a private joke between us. We decided that it must have been a sign.
We returned several days later to pick you up. You were so tiny. I could almost hold you in one hand, We brought a towel in case you had any accidents. We then went to what would turn out to be your favorite place, Petsmart. I had you in a shopping cart, with the towel around you. Shortly thereafter you started to cry. Understandably, it was the first time away from your real mother. I picked you up and you stopped crying.
One of the ladies there thought you were so cute that she took a picture of you. You were so tiny and innocent. We picked out your food, crate, and toys. When we got home I had to go to work, leaving you with your mommy. Wasn’t long before she called me, almost hysterical, because you had no training yet, and did your thing on the carpet, several times. Was not a good way to start out.
Over the next few weeks you did a decent job of learning about doing your thing outside, although you wouldn’t be afraid to do it in your crate.You were one rambunctious little puppy dog. You had no problem playing with my socks, especially if my feet were still in them. You would really wear me out when we played.
You had the ability to jump right on me where it would hurt the most. I actually had to teach you how to bark. I would get down on the floor and bark in your face. Same thing with howling. Was hilarious for me to get down and try to get you to imitate me. Your mommy thought I was crazy!
You did have a bad habit, just like all little kids, of picking up things in your mouth. One day we noticed a very small battery was no where to be found. Your uncle Randy said to pour some hydrogen peroxide into your mouth to make you vomit it back up. That was hard for us to do, to make you sick. Never did find the battery. One other day was VERY bad.
Your mommy saw you pick something up that you should not have. She tried to take it out of your mouth, and you bit her very badly. She has scars on her hand from this. I decided that we could not deal with a biting dog. The next day I took you up to the local animal shelter to put you up for adoption. Fortunately, you wouldn’t go in. I could have forced you to enter, but was breaking my heart, so I took you home.
We took you to Petsmart for puppy preschool. The instructor told me that she did not envy me trying to train you. She says Beagles do not know what the word “NO” means. They also follow there noses. Boy was she right. The day that you were supposed to “Graduate” from Preschool was the day you were spayed. You were really not with it, as you were still under the effects of the anesthetic. Mommy went to get your “Diploma”, leaving you and I home.
I was holding you for quite some time just like a baby. I feel that is the night that you and I bonded. It seems that your favorite place to be after that was in my lap, or on my shoulder like a parrot. We have many pictures of you this way. We also have a picture of you on the tonneau of my truck when you were so small.
The first time we went on a trip, we didn’t know how you would take being in a car for so long. We got some pill that really knocked you out of it. Your eyes were almost all the way back into your head. I decided that we would never do that to you again. We went to Georgia for Thanksgiving. Was really cold when we got there. No snow, but very heavy frost on the ground. When I opened your crate you jumped right onto the ground. You slid all over the place. Then you jumped right back into the truck because you didn’t like the cold on your paws. Was really funny to watch you do this.
I think you decided then that you really liked to go “bye-bye”. All we had to do was ask, and you would start to howl. Then we would spell so you wouldn’t know what we were talking about. But you soon learned what certain spelled words meant. Primarily bye-bye, cookie, visit, Petsmart and even Tramstep, which is Petsmart spelled backwards. Your mommy would get you to sing to her to the tune of reciting the alphabet. Was the cutest thing to see and hear.
You learned a few basic tricks. You would shake with your left paw, rather than the right. I guess the right is too ticklish. You would do high fives, sit, and down. getting you to roll over never happened. We might get you to roll on your back if you wanted your tummy rubbed, but I don’t think you ever rolled all the way over. One trick you learned by yourself amazed me. You learned how to open the sliding door into your mommy’s bathroom. Is funny to see you do it. I guess that you feel most secure in there.
You used to always try and sit in daddy’s lap when we went somewhere in the car. You could be a handful. When mommy would get out at the store, you would get in her seat. Was a challenge to get you back where you belonged. You learned real quick that everyone loves you. Anyone within your line of vision was there just to see you, at least you thought that. Some people would ask what kind of DOG you are. We would reply, “She is not a dog. She is a hairy little kid with a big nose!”.
We would always get a laugh at that. Whenever we go to the bank they make sure you get a cookie. You would get disappointed if we went through a fast food drive through and not get a cookie. So we started bringing them with us. We didn’t want you to feel left out!
There are several other memorable occasions that will be reason to remember you always. When we had the fifth wheel camper you always had to climb up the stairs to be in the front bed with me. It was funny how you were determined to get up there. Once you did get up there though, you would toss and turn all ight long. Kept going in circles, and pawing at the blankets to get comfortable.
There was also the year that we rented a car to go on vacation. The back seat was buckets that folded down. We put pillows in between the seats so you wouldn’t fall down there. It was funny when you did as we were driving down the road. You fell into the gap and couldn’t get out. you looked at us as though saying mommy and daddy I cant get up. You also did something very hilarious that trip. There was a big pillow for you to lay on. Your mommy looked back to see you flipping the pillow up in the air as if it was a toy.
Speaking of toys … you were one destructive little girl. Your favorite toy would always be a stuffed frog with a squeaker inside. You went too many of these to count. You would love to play catch with it, or tog of war. You tore many frogs legs off over the years. Several of them we had to take out the squeaker as we were afraid you would swallow it.
Kandy, this is the hardest letter I have ever written. You have been our companion for over 13 years. Unfortunately, your health is declining rapidly. The tumors on your poor body don’t seem to bother you. But you have a severe heart murmur. You also are suffering from an enlarged heart, which means your heart is unable to function as it should. You are retaining too much fluid in your abdomen.
Your doctors say would be too dangerous to try and drain that fluid off. I am going to have to do the hardest thing in my life very soon. All too soon. I am going to have to let them put you to sleep. I promise you that I will be there to hold you! I would do anything at all possible to not have to do this. I do not want you to suffer. I look back over the last 17 mos with being away, and realize how much I have missed you and your mommy. I will have missed your last days.
Your mother gave me a shirt a few years ago. I always thought it kind of tacky, until now. It is the shirt that I will wear only one more time. It states ” Dogs ask for so little, but give so much”. Truer words have never been spoken!!!!!!! I will be wearing that shirt on your last day with us. That is going to be a very bad day for all of us. Some people say that dogs don’t go to heaven because they have no soul. I choose to believe that you will be going someplace that I will be with you again.
Kandy, your Mother and I will miss you more than you can imagine. We will remember you always. You have been the best member of our family. You were never a dog. You ARE a hairy little kid with a big nose!!!!!!!
R.I.P. Kandy Lynn Cook
May 16, 1996-September 3, 2009
P.S. The above memorial was written prior to passing of Kandy. It was written with a love for a precious being. The end came much sooner than we were prepared for, although it was inevitable. The end came rather rapidly. She deteriorated quite fast over two days. Her appetite just about disappeared, and she would not even eat her cookies. The night before her passing I was talking to her and she came over for a hug. Then she gave me several kisses on my forearm, almost as if she new it was time to leave us. The next day our worst fears came true. Kandy would eat nothing, and would not get up to do her daily business.
We took her to the Banfield Pet Hospital in Petsmart. They knew Kandy quite well and were as saddened as we were that it was time. We were allowed time to say our goodbyes in privacy. When we were ready the vet came in and prepared us for what might occur. We both were holding Kandy as he gave her the injection. It seemed quite quick, and painless, as Kandy just went limp as if in a deep sleep. We were allowed as much time as we needed to be with her. We stayed approximately 30 minutes before we decided to leave. On the way out I turned around and went back to her for one last kiss. The only comfort that we were able to salvage was that our wonderful family member would no longer suffer.
Greg
P.P.S.
Kandy was the best dog in our life. She was like a little kid. She usually came to us when it was time for her dinner. One Halloween I decided to make her a costume. It was a sunflower skirt and had a headband. The shirt also had sunflowers on it. She took it all in stride, as she was mommy’s little live drss up doll. On more than one occasion she let me dress her up, and was very good at standing still while I dressed her. There will never be any dog that could or will take her place. She kept her mommy company while daddy was away. She would sleep right by the side of my bed, waiting to be sure I didn’t oversleep in the morning. She would lay by my chair and occasionally look up as if to be sure I was still there. She would always follow me around the house, and had to be underfoot at the same time. She knew when it was time to go to bed, or to go out on the porch when I had to leave. I will miss her dearly.
Barbara
We will NEVER forget Kandy!
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