Welcome to Bailey's Rainbow Bridge Memorial Residency
Memories of Bailey
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Bailey & his sister arrived via jet from the North Carolina breeder where they were born. From the moment we heard them bickering in the back area in Newark airport & the attendant announced " I think your package arrived!" I knew they were special when we picked them up on Father's day in 2008. He looked at me & licked my finger & we bonded immediately. His sister was & still is on the independent side but he was always a cuddler as was an accurate description by the breeder when we saw "wolfee's picture as he was called by him. Puppy Bailey & his sister Penny bickered & wrestled in their carrier all the way to our home in Flemington & made themselves at home. The 2 of them were inseparable and always interacted with each trying to establish themselves as the alpha but Bailey was always more of a lover except when bickering with his sister or competing for a spot on the sofa or for attention from us. Bailey bonded with me more than his sister Penny & he had a way of always looking right into my eyes with his big beautiful, expressive Beagle eyes. He had a way of always wanting to be where I was & would always leave whatever spot he was laying & jump up to where I was sitting in the family room where they spent most of their time. He would lean up against me upright & lick my face & contentedly go to sleep or as he was relaxing would look at me & crawl closer until he was touching. We developed almost a physic bond as he got a little older & would often come to my side of the bed at night when I was asleep if he wasn't up there already & I would always know he was there even though he didn't make a sound & he would trot back to his bed on the floor & wait for me to cover him again with his blanket & sigh contentedly. As puppies they loved playing with sticks particularly Bailey, a habit he kept all his life & would often find a small stick and run in a circle around Penny and tease her with it delightedly barking at her all the while because he saw that it annoyed her! Bailey loved being outdoors & going for walks even as a puppy and would often stop to sniff at a flower if he didn't try to eat it first! He especially loved playing in the snow in the winter & would jump into it like a little kid & stick his whole head in it. The 2 of them went on vacations to the Outer Banks 4 times with us & their great delight was as soon as we arrived at the beach house we rented would race around chasing each other usually initiated by Penny, howling & barking with delight all the while until they got tired. If they got wet from rain they would make a big production of rolling around to dry off & bark & howl at each other as they did it & Bailey especially was very expressive and would show his delight with a variety of things in this manner such as after getting treats, or a blueberry he loved, or his food or getting into his soft bed or after brushing his teeth and have a distinct bark when he did that. The 2 of them loved the soft sofas & blankets & loved covering themselves up with them. Bailey went a step further than she does & would often rearrange the blankets by nosing at them like she does but he would also pick up the blankets with his mouth & move it where he wanted it like he was hanging laundry. This was preceded a lot of times by him rolling around & howling making sure you were watching him! Bailey would call me from the bottom of the steps when I was upstairs with a different howl for that purpose usually because he wanted his blueberries I would give them every morning before I went to work or on weekends when he wanted to go with me to get coffee. She wanted to go too but let him do all the work. Bailey was a very happy typical Beagle that loved to sniff, snack & snooze especially in the sun, either in the window or outside where sometimes in the yard he would just flop over because he wanted to lay out there. They were very agile & leaped around on the furniture in the family room like monkeys which for him ended up causing some spinal issues later in his life. He would get too crazy sometimes & over do it & hurting himself & would have to be forced to stay quiet for a few days: very difficult for an active Beagle! Thanksgiving Day 2017 they were getting crazy in the morning & chasing each other & he hurt himself because later that day he became very quiet & wasn't very hungry, unusual for him, I took him to the emergency vet early that evening & got an Xray that showed that he had an issue with his spine & suggested Rimadyl but the Xray also accidentally showed something in the corner far more concerning. After further study the next day we found that Bailey had a Thymoma. ( Tumor of the Thymus) I think God wanted us to see that to take action because if Bailey didn't hurt himself he would have never had an Xray & caught that. The usual surgery or chemo was suggested by the emergency vet but only might keep him going for 6 months to a year at most but as this point he was already over 9 & our own vet thought there were other less invasive options such as a change in diet & Chinese herbs compounded to shrink tumors. She also suggested a canine Chiropractor which worked wonders for his spine & was was back to himself running around & playing & actually enjoyed going every 2 -3 months for his Chiro treatments. The doctor would have him walk for a distance to see his gait so she knew how to adjust him & laughed when he would cheat & cut the walk short to get his treats. As far as the diet & herbs it enabled him to have a great quality of life & the thymoma seemingly had no real effect on him until it caught up with him on March 27th, 2019. The weekend before he suddenly started breathing much more heavily & a follow up Xray showed the tumor had grown to the point that it was starting to crowd his heart. He had a much better & longer happier over a year with us than he would have had with the surgery or chemo that would have made him sick for the time left with us. God watched over him & kept him happy & normal for that time. Even though thymomas sometimes never effect the patient & just don't get any bigger & they live there normal lifespan I thank God for the years we did have him. Even though was cut short for an average Beagle lifespan, 2 weeks before his 11th birthday, today in fact, I treasure the fun we had & him & the interactions with him & his sister. Bailey we miss you & your passing left a big hole in our hearts & I know Penny misses you too, even though she doesn't show it. I know someday we'll all be together again. Happy Birthday Bailey, my little buddy...we love you! Mommy & Daddy 3-28-20 9-22-20 11-30-23 Please also visit Copper. |
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