Oh Charlie Brown: An Unexpected Farewell Part 1

One year and five weeks ago our Mackey gave birth to a litter of six beautiful beagle puppies, yes, count them: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...3 boys and 3 girls- a very large litter for such a small beagle. I remember the day they were born, October 19th. What a crazy day. Sarge was a proud and concerned papa- laying in front of the bathroom watching over Mackey and Mackey knew just what to do. We stayed right there with her to ensure each puppy survived and one at a time we helped clean off each puppy and introduced them to Mackey. She was a good mommy- we had them in a large crate with the door opened and she never left their side. As a matter of fact, we had to feed her in the crate for the first week because she didn't want to leave and had to force her to go outside to the bathroom.

We gave each puppy a name for identity purposes, but not one that would cause us to be attached because we were not going to keep one. We couldn't possibly afford one right? We already had two, so we were selling all but two, two were designated for our brothers so we had: Little Chuck (my brother's), Little Austin (Jarrad's brothers), Little Glen (Glen & Becky's pup), little girl (now named Roxie), little Macoronie (now Gracie) and Princess Sarge (Charlie). I was currently without a job so I spent all of the first 6 weeks of their life before they could go to their new homes. I'd sit at my computer, job hunting and some how all 6 puppies would end up asleep in my lap.

Soon, trust me fighting it the entire way, we fell in love with Princess Sarge. She looked just like her papa (that's Sarge for those you don't know) and as the number slowly decreased, we fell more and more in love with her. I won't lie, it came down to her and Gracie being left and I used a bit of reverse psychology on her now owners to get them to choose her so that Charlie would remain. Oh how sweet she was and what an instant bond we had with her.

But we were certainly second rate to her. First and foremost in her life was Sarge. She was forever and always Sarge's little side kick and oh how she loved her Sarge. Every morning, she'd wake up and instantly start playing with Sarge. He couldn't make a move without her being right there. But,once she calmed down, she was up in our lap with more kisses than we could handle and all snuggles (for 10 minutes before she was down and running again). Ha- our couches are in an L formation and she'd get a good start from the ground and take off, running across the backs of both couches, never touching the cushions. She ran in the morning, she ran in the afternoon, she ran at night, hell, she even ran in her sleep.

My God, I couldn't get enough of kissing her sweet beagle ears. She loved to be carried around like a child. I'd hold her in one arm and she'd throw a paw around my neck and we'd hang out that way as I cleaned the kitchen or got a load of laundry going. How I loved those moments with her, they were just so sweet........................