Farewell to William, Our Friend

We had such a lovely weekend, enjoying the early spring weather, visiting an amazing nursery, a walk through a farmers market, and brunch. Little did we know that just a few days later, we would be saying goodbye to such a cherished family member.

This past week, we said a very emotional goodbye to William the Conqueror. William was (also known by many other nicknames, including Wills, which I will use in this post). Wills was an almost fifteen-year-old beagle that we adopted from a rescue.

On May 12, 2017 he joined and upended our family. William had a difficult first seven years of his life, which found him being forcibly surrendered with his sister Kate. Well, he was only at the rescue for four days before I laid eyes on his picture. I had been attracted to beagles as I knew they were loving dogs. For those of you who follow the news, they are one of the most tested on animals due to their gentle and forgiving nature.

Wills was a loving and let's face it...a stubborn hound. Weighing in at 35 pounds, he thought he was a much larger dog than he was. We did a DNA test on him (which was a gift from my boss) and discovered he was 72 beagle and 22 percent coon hound. He always loved smaller dogs and was gentle and sweet with them, gently sniffing and wagging his tail. However, if a new dog appeared in the neighborhood that was a larger breed than Wills, he would bark and let his dissatisfaction be known. This often went on for several weeks or possibly months, then lo and behold, said large dog became a fast friend of Williams. There was some innate need to stake his claim in the neighborhood. However, with the progression of time, he would decide that the large dog was acceptable; often, those dogs became his walking buddies.

When my great-nephew was born, he would come over and Wills would sit there, and the little one would touch and pat him. And when Wills was bored with the little person, he would just walk off and take a well-deserved nap.

Wills often needed the last word, as we would have a stare-off, similar to two dueling fighters. He would shush, then look at me with his nose raised and issue one last warbling bark. It was difficult not to laugh when he did this.

But old age and infirmities began to take their toll on Wills and the knowledge of what was coming was never far from our minds. For those of us who have had to let our pets go, it is never easy. And in all honesty, I have waited too long in the past. It is a delicate dance and we know that although this was heartbreaking, Wills is scampering about over the rainbow bridge. He is running with his tail upright and at full mast. He is baying the song of beagles before him and those to come.

So as we face a quiet house, without shedding hair, dog beds, cuddles, barks, and his gentle demeanor, we are thankful for the little life that is such a part of the family. I wrote an obituary for our community newsletter and ended it with the following:

And to quote another immortal crooner (Bob Hope) "Thanks for the memories."

Thank you, William, and we will see you on the other side.