This diary is my poor attempt to remember my best buddy, Casey, who passed away February 15, 2011, at approximately 1150 AM. He had struggled for the last couple of months with congenital heart disease, and he was a fighter until the very end.
Casey was the first pet my wife ever had, and he proved over the years to be the best little beagle ever. We got him from a friend of my wife, on August 15, 1998. It was a hot summer day, my union was on strike, and her friend had a litter of beagle pups, 6 weeks old and ready to go. I saw Casey immediately, and told my wife – “I want that one.” He was the cutest little thing, with a white stripe on his back that looked like a lightning bolt.
Picking him out from the bunch was one of my best decisions ever.
From the start, we knew we had a good boy. We had heard all kinds of terrible things about beagles (they smell, they are hard to train, they won’t listen, etc, etc.) but Casey seemed determined to break the mold. He was the smartest little guy ever, he only went potty inside the house 3 times, and once was my fault for ignoring him for too long. He didn’t smell at all (monthly baths helped, I’m sure). And he learned things as quickly as any dog I ever knew. I taught him to sit, stay, shake with both hands, sit pretty, roll over, lay down, all in a couple short weeks. When I put in an electric fence for him, he learned the boundary in 3 days. Did I mention he also would deliver the paper to my wife, from the door to the living room, undamaged? He would also drag my gym bag, full of dirty clothes and seemingly as big as him, from the door to the bedroom closet.
As the years went by, we decided Casey needed a friend to spend his time with, so we got another beagle, Dexter. Casey was furious about this, as you can imagine, and barked at poor little Dexter non-stop for 2 whole days. Once Casey got the idea that Dexter wasn’t leaving, he settled down and they became best buddies, with Casey helping to teach Dexter all the things he need to know. Together we called them “the brothers”, and they truly did all the things you expect good dogs to do. As I work swing shift (7 midnights a month) one of the things I would tell each of them was “You be a good boy, and protect your momma, and your brother.” They always did.
Our lives went on, and so did the years, as they tend to do. You become comfortable in your routines, and tend not to notice how much time really does fly by. In November, 2010, Casey started turning up his nose at food, something beagles just don’t do. Tests determined he was anemic, and his heart didn’t sound too good, so we put him on 2 different meds to try to help him, but they only helped a little. He seemed to be having pain in his legs, so we added another med for that. He did have 2 more really good days, where he acted like himself again. Fortunately for us, they were Dec 23 (our anniversary) and Dec 24th, Christmas Eve. (Casey even helped open presents). Other than those 2 days, he just really never acted like himself, and we could tell he was wearing down.
Fast forward to Feb 12th. I had started midnights again, and when I got home in the morning Casey wouldn’t eat. We tried everything to get him to eat anything, but all he had was a little chicken. Same thing Sunday, all he had was a couple of bites of corn dog, the only thing he would touch. Valentines Day, we took little Casey to the vet, and the vet said we should put him to sleep immediately. By now he was having trouble breathing and couldn’t seem to catch his breath. We asked if we could have 1 more day with him, and the vet gave him a shot to calm him down and help him breath better, and set up an appointment to come to the house the 15th between 4:30 and 5 o’clock. We were heart broken and devastated. We took our little guy home and stayed right with him at all times.
By now, Casey could not walk, he was too unsteady, so I had to take him outside and hold him to go potty. I had been asking him if he wanted to go potty, look at me and let me know. At 1145 he got up, looked right at me, and laid back down. I took him outside, held him, and he peed for the longest time. I took him back inside the house, he started gasping for air, and passed away within 1 minute of going potty. Both my wife and I were holding him as he passed. He was such a good boy, he refused to go potty inside the house, right up until the end. He also made it so that we didn’t have to make the decision to end his life for him. That is why I say he was the best boy ever. Good boy, Casey, good boy.
Updated by A Man Called Gloom at Wed Feb 16, 2011, 01:13:00 PM
Thanks all for the wonderful comments. This is a response from my wife, thanks again:
Thank you Kossacks for your kind thoughts and prayers. Our hearts are truly broken, we watched our little boy take his last breath here on earth and it was very peaceful. I got to hold him for his last car ride(to be cremated) which was one of his favorite things to do. I held him like a baby all wrapped up in his beagle blanket, I caressed his soft little ear and kissed his sweet face, he looked so angelic. I woke up crying at 4:30 am today and have been crying off and on every since. I so worry about little Dexter as we know he is grieving too, and I don’t want to upset him. We try not to cry but everything reminds us of him and we miss him so. I have only been away from Casey 3 times in my life, 1 when he was neutered, 2 when I had surgery and last night, I can’t wait until he comes home again so we can once again be a family. When he left he took a part of us with him. I can almost hear him woo, wooing at the bunnies at the Rainbow Bridge. Thanks again for the kind comments they are very helpful. To know Casey was to love him. Mark & Bobbie
Updated by A Man Called Gloom at Wed Feb 16, 2011, 07:17:42 PM
Casey came home for good at about 3 pm.