Friday, June 29, 2012

Beau Beau

Some great memories and a lot of pictures.....

This is not a post about a dog. This is a post about a family member. If you are not an animal lover, or loved an animal just as much as you do your family, then you won't understand or you will think I have totally fallen off my rocker! I don't think I will get my words right, and I won't be able to say everything I want to about our guy. I am crying as I type because I can't believe he is really gone. I know some don't understand, but we love him so much. We have lost a family member today. Beau has been through a lot of living in his 13 1/2 years. He and Buttons were our comfort with the loss of all 4 grandparents, they were the ones I loved on when I was sad about anything, they were in my senior pictures of high school (I would have posted, but it is at my parent's house),they went with me every week to see my Granddad who I miss more than words, they were at my wedding, they give kisses to cheer me up when I am down, and they loved my little girl. Beau was a comfort even for Olivia when she was scared at first when I left to return for work. Olivia doesn't refer to going to my parents house as going to Mammy and Buppies, but says she is going to Beau Beau's home. Now, explain this to a three year old who has already lost so much. Even in such a short time, he captured her heart.

Beau is the second pup from the left. He is the mischievous one that has his head ducked down.


Dec. 1999


Beau was born at my parents house on November 3, 1999. We were so excited! Dad called mom and she quickly signed me out and we headed home. John's dad was already there and we were ready for the day. Buttons gave birth to 7 precious puppies. (I wanted to post some of those pictures of them, but I wanted to make this post happen today more....and these are all the pictures I have here. We have more at mom and dads, but this will do.) John missed the whole day because those were the days when he had a pager. I paged hiim all day with the letters PUPPIES....bless him....he tried to call that number all day! 7 letters must equal a phone number, right?! Don't you remember, pagers? You had to figure out the word from the given numbers. Well, he missed it. But by that evening, all 7 puppies were alive and well, and there was one tired Buttons. We had the puppies right up until the holidays. I can still remember them pulling Grandad's shoestrings and hearing my Grandma talk about how crazy we were to have seven 6 week old puppies in the house (in the kitchen!)at Christmas time. It was so hard telling each of them goodbye, but before we told any of them bye, we chose which one we wanted to keep. We knew this was a one time deal as far as having puppies, and we decided Beau was our fellow to keep.
He is a gentle little guy. Beau was not a snuggler at first. He wouldn't ever sit still. He was also a bit goofy seeming. Trust me, that works in our family! We made fun of the fellow's tail. We said it looked like a flag pole rather than the typical shih tzu curly tail.
Beau had a prance when he would walk that I will never forget. He was just, well, he was happy. His little back legs literally looked like they skipped along when he was walking. We always laughed when we watched him run or go up steps. His little legs would go everywhere. Everytime when they come in from outside they get a treat. They have become more demanding in the last few years and bark relentlessly until they get their treat, but Beau always took it like a gentleman. He was so easy and would barely open his mouth to take it. If he wanted to join us on the couch he would sit at our feet on the floor until he was invited. I know....different, but very true! Sometimes he needed three or four invitations. It depended on who was in the room and who was on the couch. When he laid down, he liked to be on the pillows on the couch. He got fussed at many times for this. He would get up there, turn 3 or 4 circles one way and then 3 or 4 the other. He would then scratch the pillows a bit to fluff them the way he wanted. Finally, he would lay down and huff.
More than anything, Beau loved a box. It didn't matter if it was a water box, clothes box, book box....clear the way, he was getting in. He would get in some tiny boxes, but he made himself fit and looked incredibly uncomfortable sometimes, but he claimed the box.
As years passed, and he lost his 'puppy' Beau became a loving guy. He wanted to be petted and loved attention. You could often find him cleaning his mama's face. I know from mom telling me of many sleepless nights that he literally sleeps on top of her. I have had my own first hand experience with that, and I would gladly take those sleepless nights just to have him by my side, Oscar on the other side, and Buttons at (more like on) my head. If he wasn't next to mom, he was belly up next to dad.
Mom teaches piano and everyday, you could find Beau in there taking piano lessons. He would sit the full three or four lessons, and she would say they were done for the day and he would prance out. Yesterday, mom played the piano just for Beau. He made his way into the piano room slowly and sat. I laid in the floor during that time and loved on him.


Last week, Beau quit eating and began to breathe funny. On Sunday, mom and dad took him to the vet and we found out that he had kidney failure. Apparently, this had been going on for a while, but we didn't know because he seemed fine to us. His blood work looked better as far as kidney's on Tuesday, but his pancreas had begun to fail. After a week of fluids, lots of shots, IV's and his first night ever stay at the vet (I don't think I slept a wink because I was worried about him being there alone), it was time to say goodbye.

Today he was buried in a box with his pooh (that he stole from me), his blanket and his bed. He is in my parents back yard. It is so hard to believe he is gone. He has been such a big part of our lives. We will always love our Beau Beau, and he is irreplaceable. Thanks Beau for the comfort, love and great years. Your little tired body is at peace now. I honestly can't see anything in front of me at this point because of tears. Our hearts are truly broken.

There are so many more pictures because we are a close family and that includes our four legged babies. Though my heart is incredibly sad, but I wouldn't trade the memories. We are so lucky to have each other and to have had Beau Beau. Here are some pictures of some great times!

Just having fun--Yes, he is in a flower basket/pot. (okay, maybe he wasn't having fun, but he was a good sport!) (2002)

The night before our wedding. I think he was ready for bed! (July 30, 2004)

Sitting at our church while I got my makeup done before our wedding. (July 31, 2004)


John has the picture I wanted to post at work. There is one of us each holding one before our wedding. I was holding Beau. He was holding Buttons.


Usually together! (Jan. 2008)


A very common scene. Both sitting with dad's lap.


Just enjoying family time.




Yard Sale fun. (2008)


Bedtime at our house....mom and dad had gone to Chattanooga to see my aunt and uncle. Up until the last two years, they would come to our house, but now it is too hard on them, so we go to mom and dad's to take care of them when they go out of town. (Sept. 12, 2008)


Enjoying the day!


Christmas 2009 ---yes, all the pups get wrapped presents each year. Oscar is the only one who unwraps them on his own though.



2009


2009


2009


Such a patient fellow. He would sit and watch the girls play. (Feb. 14, 2010)



Ahhh, the perfect box! (Christmas 2010)


Ready for a nap.


Scoping out the kitchen for some food! Yum! (2010)


Their first meeting. Best buddies in the making! Ok...to be honest, Beau was pretty happy to see me pick her up in the afternoon, but he loved her, too! (March 2011)


One last picture of our sweet guy! (June 27, 2012)

Beau Beau, we love you and we always will. You brought a ton of joy to each and every person you came in contact with. I miss you sweet boy!

November 3, 1999-June 28, 2012

2 comments:

  1. Ok Laura, you made me cry at work. I am so sorry for you and your family! Such a sweet post.

    Btw, I love your blog and reading about your family and adoption journey!(This is Jamie Caskey)

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  2. I am so sad for you and your family!! I enjoy reading your blog!Prayers are with you!! Brenda King

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