What it's like to have a Beagle in one's life | Missy the Beagle Home | Missy's last day

Missy came to us with a skin condition that had caused her to lose the fur on her chest and underneath her neck. After ruling out other causes, her veterinarian decided it had to be allergies. Missy spent six weeks on a special trial to see if it was food allergies. No table food or puppy treats for six weeks -- what a bummer! Eventually she went to see a veterinary dermatologist, who discovered a host of airborne allergies. From then on she had an injection every two weeks to help her adapt to the allergens. Plus special shampoo that had to be left on for ten minutes every time she had a bath. No fun!

Then, in May, 2000, we discovered the BIG problem. I felt some lumps under her fur. Her regular doctor was on vacation, so I had to see a substitute. It was cancer -- lymphoma. (By a bizarre coincidence, Judi's father died from the same cancer -- Agent Orange.) The substitute doctor told me Missy would not be a good candidate for chemotherapy, and probably had about a month to live.

I was devastated. I promised Missy that her last month the most special time a dog could have.

Then, the following week, I received a call from Missy's regular doctor, back from his vacation. He said, "I see Missy has lymphoma. Bring her in so we can start chemo."

I said, "But Dr. <deleted> said Missy wasn't a candidate for chemo."

"She told you that because she didn't think you'd spend the money and time that chemo takes, and she was trying to make you feel better. But I know you." (And now I know what kind of insensitive people they allow to be vets!)

I was walking on air! It was a lot of money, and a lot of time, but Missy immediately went into remission, and stayed there for a little over a year. She returned to being a lively, energetic, mischevious, noisy beagle, and it was worth every cent and hour that I spent.

But Missy did come to hate visits to the vet -- she made at least 25 during that year. This became typical:

"What! Don't tell me we're here again! "Do you have your own personally reserved parking space at this joint?"

"I'm not getting out of the car!"

"Don't you listen to me? I told you I'm not getting out of the car!"

"I'm SO not getting out of the car!"

Once I got Missy over to my side of the car, I would lift her out and carry her inside. As we came through the door all the receptionists would turn and say, "Good morning, Missy!" (That's how frequently we were there.)

Then she would see the doctor, get stuck with a few needles (which she was very brave about), and be on our way home:

"Aren't car rides great!"

Was I crazy for investing so much in the life of a dog? There was a famous animal-rights activist who lived on a ranch with dozens of different kinds of animals, but when he talked, it was almost always about his dogs. He said, "Dogs and humans complete one another. A human is not whole without a dog, and a dog is not whole without a human."

I know what he means. Dogs were the first domesticated animal, and are different from all other domesticated animals. (Cats don't represent a "domesticated" animal <g>.) Wolves were domesticated at a time when humans didn't even know that animals could be domesticated, much less how. So the wolves had to do as much as the humans to initiate domestication, and help it along. The domestication of wolves was a partnership. The later domestication of birds and bovines were conquests. The domestication of wolves required intelligence and commitment on the parts of both species, and those qualities have been passed down to the dogs of today.

What it's like to have a Beagle in one's life | Missy the Beagle Home | Missy's last day