Stories

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Penny and Friends

I adopted Penny through your wonderful organization in August of '99. She was born July 4, 1998. (That's one birthday I'll never forget.) Like all the other lab rescues, she had no name--just numbers tattooed on the inside of her right ear.

Since 1969 four beagles had come and--sadly--gone before Penny. The first one I got as a puppy for a gift. From that moment on I was a beagle boy. The next three all came from shelters--Alameda, Santa Cruz, and Marin. Penny was the first one that I got from you folks. Watching her become a city dog after her year in the laboratory has been great fun. I worried that she would be afraid of strangers, but she'll go up to anybody and any dog. The one bad thing that I feel has resulted from her time in the laboratory is her fear of long, thin objects. If she sees me with a ruler, yardstick, pepper mill, long knife, whatever, she runs and hides. I guess she connects such objects with needles or some other medical device.

Now we come to eight months ago when I decided I wanted a second beagle. By then I had acquired a personal computer, so I no longer had to travel from shelter to shelter or scan newspaper ads. I finally connected with the web site for the Sacramento SPCA. There I spotted Millie's picture. Even though I had yet to meet her, I knew she was destined to join Penny and me. You see, the name of my first beagle's mother was also Millie. To adopt another Millie was to complete the circle. (I should add that I am 61 and have been told I will die in the next two or three years. Obviously Millie will be the last dog I will adopt.) Millie is unlike any of my other beagles. She is very aloof, will growl if she is hugged for more than a moment, but the funny thing is she exudes love in her own way. She absolutely adores stuffed toys--something none of the other dogs could be bothered with. And she follows me everywhere. She loves just curling up at my feet. Of course if I get down on the floor and hug her, she grows and gets up and leaves the room. But she soon returns. And when she's in the mood, she plays chase with Penny. And of course at night when they're both on the bed with me, Millie has to have her head on the pillow right next to my face. Clearly this dog loves me; she just doesn't like displays of affection. Like Penny, she is about 7 years old, so we three should continue to have at least a few more good years as a family. (By the way, for those of you wondering what will happen to my dogs after I'm gone, my best friend-- who has a 3-legged beagle--is planning to adopt them. All the dogs are familiar with both households, so there will be no problem.)

Thanks for letting me share my story. This is the first time I've summarized my years with these two rascals.

Hal
Petaluma

Mia

My husband and I adopted Mia from NCAL Beagle Rescue almost 3 years ago now. Neither of us had ever owned a dog before, so it was a big change for us to adopt a dog. We tried to get Mia the first time she showed up on your website at age 8 months, but someone else had gotten to her first. Luckily for us, she showed up again about one month later and we got her! She has been such a great little dog. She is energetic, but she is also a great couch potato. She is a very sweet girl, without an ounce of aggression. She loves all people and she is very fond of cats (but they don't seem to like her much). If you are considering adopting a beagle, believe what you hear. They require regular exercise and attention, but the payback is worth it.

Mia has been very well behaved, but we keep a close eye on her to keep her out of trouble. Because Mia has been such a great addition to our family, we are seriously thinking about adopting another beagle next year.

Littlefoot

On January 2, 2005 I went home with a new family and left my foster parents. My new family had recently lost their 14 year old Beagle to heart disease and wanted to share their home with another dog. When I saw my new parents, I knew immediately that I was the Beagle for them! My new parents call me Little. I have lived with them for almost a year now. I am a happy and healthy guy. I love to take walks in the park and run around chasing birds in the back yard. Mom says I have discovered a few bad habits too. Sometimes I dream of being a mountain goat and I will push a chair over to the counter so I can climb up to get snacks or get into the garbage. Dad says that’s just my beagle nature shining through.

I have discovered lots of new activities. I love to go camping with my family and my cousin Josie (a lab/whippet mix). Mom and Dad even took me to Beagle Fest 2005 so I could see all my old friends and tell them about my new family.

In July, I got a new brother so I wouldn’t be so lonely. Mom and Dad brought home Fredrick Winston the first (Bassett Hound). He sounds fancy, but he’s a regular guy so we call him Fred. I love being with Fred. We play and sleep together all day long. Sometimes we have howling contests in the backyard!

Thank you NCBR for helping me find a loving family! I know that my Mom and Dad love me very much. Happy Holidays, Little a.k.a. Littlefoot P.S. I included my 2005 Christmas photo with my new brother Fred.

Lilo the Peelo!!
Lab Research Beagle Adopted October 2004

Before I started as a volunteer for the Northern California Beagle Rescue, I was a regular visitor to the available dogs page of the Beagle Rescue site! I would scroll up and down the list to see who was currently in rescue. Oh there were many, many beagle babies that I would have loved to adopt into my Barnhart BeagleVille Pack!! See, I had three girls, Penny (Momma), Cindy (daughter) and little Miss Higgins (we call her Puppins forever because she is small 13" beagle).

When a friend of ours had a litter of beagle pups, I wanted to adopt one so badly. We went to see them but all were spoken for, so I went back to checking the available dogs of NCBR. I saw an ad that the rescue was getting a load of rescues from the research lab. And two of them happened to be girls!!! I knew I wanted one of those poor babies to bring home and love!! I emailed Miss Eva with my statistics and sent her pictures of my current three beagles. We communicated back and forth and finally made a day for my daughter and I to head to the Sacramento area one Sunday morning to meet "Frita". When we got there, and met that sweet baby, it was a done deal!! We had a plan to name her "Lilo" (my daughter loves Lilo and
Stitch) She started to come to her name right a way. We brought her home to meet all of the rest of the pack and it has been a family ever since. and the greatest thing is that even though Lilo was de-barked in the research lab, since she has been living with my three "loud beagles"
she has developed a deep husky bark of her own!! Now I think that is justice at its finest!! Oh yes, and she is called Lilo the Peelo sometimes because if she is so excited, she lets go with a little Peelo!!!! We love our Lilo and I cuddle her a little extra most days to try and make up for
the months she spent in those cages being tested on!!

Now that I volunteer as a foster home, Lilo gets to meet new and special beagle friends and maybe in her own way let the newbies know that their life will be perfect and sweet with a forever home like hers is!!

Judy

Sydney's Story

Just about a month of so ago, Sydney the basset came into rescue. I think I had pulled a couple of beagles from the SPCA just before the call came in from Lizz telling me that they had a female basset, named Sydney, who had failed her behavior evaluation for "food" like so many of our hound friends do. We have had good success placing bassets (with the exception of Hank, my foster who has been with me since October...however, that will be a story for another time), so of course I was not going to turn our Sydney away.

Having said "yes" to Lizz, I was now in the position to quickly find a foster. With all of us being full and knowing that many prefer our little beagles and although many think their basset buddies are great..they may not be their cup of tea to foster.

So, calling Christy seemed only natural, knowing that she had a delightful basset named Ruby, however I did so with hesitation knowing that she was also full and adding one more to the mix would not be easy. Without a second thought she told me to bring Sydney and within hours Sydney was with Christy, in her beautiful home in Roseville, being greeted not only by Christy but the house canine residents as well. Initially Sydney was unsure and uncertain, however as each day passed she became more comfortable and confident, as she was in the care of Christy and her family where she was treasured and loved. Every few days Christy would provide me with updates of our wonderful Sydney and I could tell by her voice that Sydney was home. By now you may have guessed how this story will end, and without saying more, Sydney has found a home with Christy and her husband. A home where she will be cared for, loved, and treated kindly. Please enjoy the pictures below that Christy sent me this evening. Our Sydney is on the right, a beautiful basset girl with her basset sister Ruby. Such a happy ending for sweet Sydney.

Eva

Dylan

Hi, my name is Dylan (I'm in the bow of the kayak wearing the yellow life jacket) and I wanted to share my story with you. I started out in a research lab, but all of us in the lab were cut loose when we were pretty young. I was about 8 months old when NorCal Beagle Rescue saved me. My foster mom was Pearl & she just loved me so, so much. Now, life in the slammer can be tough because we don't really learn much about being a dog, we don't know what it means to play, and we're not too sure about humans in general. But I learned to relax with Pearl and began to feel more comfortable around humans and other dogs.

When Pearl brought me to an adoption event in Milpitas there were so many dogs there I just started salivating all over the place (that's what I do when I get really nervous). But this man came up to us and talked to me real sweet and gentle like. He brought over a woman and another beagle. I didn't know it then, but they were about to become my forever family. The other beagle, Barkley, was also rescued from NorCal; his foster mom had been Linea (he was called Timmy but the humans thought Barkley seemed to fit him). Barkley had been rescued from a breeder who had way too many dogs. Barkley has turned out to be my best pal ever: He taught me how to be a dog, showed me where to pee & poop, how to sit quietly for my food, and how to PLAY!

When I first got home the humans would throw things around, but I really wasn't sure what they were up to. Barkley showed me that it makes the humans really happy when we pick up those things, run around, and give them back to the humans. Oh, my – how the humans make such a fuss every time I bring something back to them. I'm still learning a lot – like the time I walked right into a pool because I didn't know it wasn't as solid as the ground. But they helped me out and I even learned to swim. They take me for hikes, they play with me in the backyard, and I do my best to keep all the squirrels away from the vegetable garden. Sometimes they take Barkley and me kayaking. We have our very own life vests and you can see from the picture that we like being on the boat.

If you're thinking about rescuing a beagle, you're in the right place. Because I had been in a lab, it was really good for me to join a house with another beagle. My new pack has been so great and, in return, I give them as much love as I can every single day.

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