Welcome to Northern California Beagle Rescue!

Last summer Sparky passed away and Murphy became one spoiled Beagle Boy. Murphy was happy with the attention from the whole family now, but during the day I could see he was kind of bored. He'd go from the couch, to the floor, to my son's bed, to the yard, etc. Not sure what to do with himself while his boy was at school. I did some doggie daycare for a while and that worked out well, but when that job ended Murphy was bummed. Our family discussed getting Murphy a buddy, and after much soul searching decided the only way to go was to rescue another beagle. At the end of May we went and met "Barney" at his foster home. We brought the whole family and Murphy of course. The dogs did great so we decided to do a sleepover. My 5 year old daughter decided the dog should be named Steve, so the name change went into effect immediately. We realized he actually answered to Stevie better so that is what he is now lovingly called. Murphy will be 4 in November, but Stevie who we actually think is just about 2 (according to our vet) has him playing like a puppy again. Watching "the boys" together is so fun. Murphy still sleeps with my son, but Stevie has melted my husband's heart and worked his way onto our bed (a first for any animal).

Our two beagle boys are a wonderful pair, we can't imagine life without them. We are so thankful to all the volunteers at NCBR and the wonderful foster homes our boys lived in during their transitions.

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Nicole McNeil Smith

Two Years with Snoopy!

I adopted Snoopy on July 31, 2004. Since then he has become a wonderful friend and companion. He follows me from room to room and lays down and relaxes near me. I have a pillow for him in nearly every room, so I guess he's a little spoiled. I lived in San Jose, California when I adopted Snoopy, but have since moved to Spokane, Washington. Up here in Spokane I have about a 1/2 acre fenced in back yard. Snoopy just loves his expansive yard of grass to run and roll around in. I take Snoopy for a walk every day and if I forget he sits in front of me and stares at me to let me know. He really lives for those walks, they are his favorite thing.

Snoopy's previous owners lived in San Francisco and I hope that they see this message so that they can see that Snoopy is living a happy life and is very loved and well cared for. I got one of those electric dog doors that automatically open when he approaches. He absolutely loves that thing. It gives him the freedom to hang out in the house and go out when ever he wants. Snoopy will turn 10 years old at the end of this year. I look forward to many more happy years with my buddy Snoopy.

Mark
Spokane, WA

Toby and Rollo

My husband and I adopted Toby (aka Yen) and Rollo (aka Hamlet). Toby was a research beagle and we brought him home 2 years ago. He is a great, sweet boy. He has the odd phobia of grass but LOVES the beach... and REALLY LOVES the couch.

Rollo was a beagle that had been in the shelter. He is a lemon beagle that is rambunctious and loving. We brought him home 1 year ago to keep Toby company after we lost our first two beagles to old age (the sweet Tyler at 15 years and beautiful

Cori at 16 years). Rollo is teaching his research born brother the joys of the outdoors and how to play.

We love them both and enjoy those times in the evening we we can all pile on the couch and commune.

Hershey

One day in the summer of 2008 I was sitting at home in Colorado browsing the internet and I came across the Northern California Beagle Rescue website. Just for fun, I clicked on the tab marked “Available Dogs”, scrolled down and then I saw him (back then he was called Reggie, now he is Hershey). It was love at first sight. I knew that my police dog Misha and I would have to make the 2500 mile round-trip drive out to Folsom to meet our new friend.

Now I had been a Police K9 Officer for the past four years and had never thought of getting a Beagle before. After all, my mom raised German-bred German Shepherd Dogs and my police partner was 5 ½ year old German Shepherd Dog ‘Misha’ from Poland. Misha had recently developed kidney problems and had gone into renal failure so retirement for Misha was imminent.

I wasn’t going to leave him home alone. Misha, although a narcotics detection and protection dog, was as sweet and loving as any German Shepherd Dog I had ever known. And he loved other dogs! So I decided I was going to get Misha a dog.

Well, after lots of contact with Hershey’s foster mom, Susan in Folsom, I loaded up Misha into the car and we headed for California. We had decided to make a vacation out of this trip to pick up Misha’s new adopted brother. We headed for Reno first. I had two free nights in Reno. We played around Reno and Lake Tahoe, and then it was time to head to Folsom to meet Hershey. We were so excited that we got to Folsom early in the morning, even though our appointment with Hershey’s foster mom Susan wasn’t until the afternoon. So we played around Folsom, went to two different Pet Smarts to buy toys for Hershey. At last the time had come to go meet Hershey and his foster mom Susan. We drove over to Susan’s house and Susan was outside. She invited us in and as we walked up to the fenced-in front porch, we saw him. There was the most beautiful Beagle we had ever seen. There was our Hershey. As we walked into the fenced-in porch I knelt down and Hershey jumped in my arms and gave me lots of Hershey kisses! On the way back to Colorado, we stopped in Salt Lake City to visit two of my aunts, Shirley and Heidi. They both thought Hershey was adorable!

Well, now we are back in Colorado and Hershey has melted right in to his new Colorado lifestyle. Hershey and Misha are the best of friends. Misha’s prognosis was only “weeks” when we left for California, but Hershey has made Misha young again, and now they say Misha may have months, and in fact, possible a year or two. Really, we owe Hershey the thanks for that. Misha and Hershey play almost non-stop and when they are not playing they are curled up together fast asleep in the shade. They really do love each other. They are like Mutt & Jeff, Misha at 92 lbs and Hershey at 32 lbs!

Hershey makes you laugh until you cry. He is quite comical. As of late he has taken to wearing clothes on his own. He will wear anything really. A towel, blanket, sheet, jacket, shirt, you name it. He dives his head beneath the garment, flips it over his head and back and will walk around for hours with a sheet covering the top of his head and back dragging a cape behind him. He is a lot like “Snoopy”!

Another funny thing about this crazy little dog is that he has taken to sleeping in the rabbit hutch in the back yard. It is as big as a large dog kennel and up on legs and there is a ramp up into it. He barely fits through the door at 32 lbs, but once in there, it is lots a room. He carried a blanket it there and is now sound asleep soaking up the sun in the rabbit hutch. The irony is that Beagles have been bred since 200 AD (2000 years) to hunt rabbits and he sleeps in a rabbit hutch!

Hershey has another purpose in life. He and I have started him in tracking (trailing) training with a Durango-based Search & Rescue group. We think Hershey will make an excellent trailing dog and that he will be able to save lives of those who are lost.

Hershey is a remarkable Beagle and this is our “Happy Endings” story.