The end of an era

We're sad to report that the eponymous fat beagle of Fat Beagle Farm has died. Dixie died about 3 weeks ago after a very swift illness. She was normal in the morning, then we when got home from XC ski club in the afternoon, she was a little "off". By a that evening, she was effectively paralyzed (although not completely). Our vet thought she had herniated or even ruptured a disk high up in her spine, given how quickly she was affected. We tried more than 24 hours of intensive IV therapy with steroids and other drugs to see if that would reduce swelling and hopefully reverse some of the symptoms. Unfortunately, she got worse instead of better (the disk was no doubt ruptured), so we decided to euthanize her. Ted and I were both there to give her lots of love -- and cat treats, of course. She died as she lived -- loving lots of affection and delicious treats.

We were all very sad, of course, but in some ways it was easier than when Jack died last March. His illness (a tumor on his lower spine) progressed somewhat slower, so we had several weeks before the inevitable for him. In some ways, it was such a shock with Dixie, but it was certainly not the worst way for her to go.

Truth be told, true to her breed, she was such a roamer and had run off, following nothing but her nose, so many times over the years that it was a miracle she was never hit by a car. Dixie's life was saved over a dozen times, no doubt, by the kindness of strangers who would find her rambling right down the middle of a busy road. Once, when we were visiting New Orleans around Christmas and she was staying with friends, she left their yard (gate left open by a child) and roamed for over 6 hours in below zero temperatures. A kindly trucker found her sleeping on a steaming manhole cover in the middle of a would-be-busy industrial intersection! She probably thought she'd died and gone to heaven, sine this trucker was a dog-lover and even had treats in his cab for her. Not a bad way to spend the next 6 or 8 hours, eating treats and lying in the cab with him before he finally got in touch with us!

It's interesting that we lost both Jack and Dixie within less than a year, just like some old married folks. Jack was 10 1/2 and Dixie was 12 1/2. They were both with us for over 10 years. Dixie had been a research dog before living with us, and she definitely seemed to make the most of the life of leisure she enjoyed after her service to veterinary science. The house is definitely different around here now, and it does feel like the end of an ear.

Here are a few more photos of Dixie at work and play: doing the "pre-wash", licking baby Ben's face, being extremely patient with the kids, reaching ever-so-hopefully for the Thanksgiving turkey, and the like.

In memory of "Subject D" 1995-2008