Mike and I picked out Molly when she was just 3 weeks old at a breeder in Lawn Ridge, IL. She was just darling, and being a beagle, had great tri-color markings. We put a deposit on her and could not wait to come back in May to pick her up. She was just the sweetest thing, and we fell in love with her instantly. We knew right away which puppy
from the litter we wanted!
Well, the day finally came and my sister and I drove out to get her. She had grown so! She slept on my sister Gina’s shoulder all the way home. That first night, she howled and cried in her pet taxi (her new home) because she was missing her mama, but Mike and I knew that we had to leave her in her pet taxi so she would see it as her new home,
her very own space.
We laughed until we cried at the sound of this baby beagle baying and crying. But after that first night, she was great! She discovered after just one night that the pet taxi was all hers.
Molly was a 13-inch beagle. She was just a little bitty thing, her legs so short that when we took her for walks those first weeks she would “squeak” as she walked as a precursor to just flat-out becoming so tired she would just stop in the middle of the street and lay down. So, we’d pick her up and carry her the rest of the way home.
She was the best dog–she tolerated things so well, like the time I brought home another dog, a Lab mix puppy that was going to be sent to the pound because the owners had not found a home for this puppy out of a litter of 13. Molly was not happy about it, but she took it like a trooper. That dog ended up running away, and I am sure Molly was relieved. As lovable as that dog was, she was not nearly as smart as our Molly, and Molly knew it!
Along came a baby when Molly was 3, and she knew right away that this baby was here to stay. She was not really fond of small children, but as Ryan grew, she found her comfortable ground around him. The older he got, the more Molly was attached to him. Ryan, from the day he came home from the hospital, always had Molly. She is the only dog
he has ever known!
Mike and Ryan loved to take Molly down in the woods near our house, let her off of her leash, and do what beagles do naturally. She would have been a fantastic hunting dog had we trained her for that. When she was young, she would hear raccoons in our back yard, wake us up in the night wanting out, and tree them at 3 am! We’d quickly try to get her in because she was baying up a storm at them! Those were some of the few times we’d hear her bark. People always say that beagles are terrible about barking, but not Molly. She was not a barker. She never knew a stranger at our house; she always greeted everyone who came to the door with a big wag and an even bigger sniff.
She loved to have company!
She loved to sneak out of the gate (which Mike would accidentally leave open) and wander our neighborhood. People would call our house wanting to know if our dog was out because they saw a beagle walking down the street. She was especially fond of garbage, unfortunately, and wound up at the vet a number of times with the diagnosis of “gastrointestinal distress.” But I am sure that while her nose was in the garbage, she was totally and
completely happy.
I really miss you, Molly, and will not forget you as the first “baby” that we had. You were the first living thing that Mike and I had to take care of and “bring up right.” You were the best dog, and when I see your picture on the wall in the back of my classroom, I tear up just thinking about you. I am glad we were able to say “goodbye” to you, hold you, and hug and kiss you before your final car trip. It was so hard for Mike to take you to the vet that last time, and he cried like a baby when he got home. Ryan has a stuffed beagle to sleep with at night to help him not miss you so much. Thank you for being the best little beagle ever.
We love you and will never forget you,
| Molly |
| Mike, Chris, and Ryan Short |