goodbye old friend.

when i was young we had a beagle. she was a typical beagle and we loved her. so, my mom decided that we would get another one. when i was 10 years old, she came home one day with a brand new "beagle" puppy. she was cute and cuddly and we named her copper after the hound dog in Disney's the fox and the hound. the strange thing was that once she started growing, she didn't stop. she grew to typical beagle size and beyond until she became a medium size dog. in fact, she began to look more like a shepherd than a beagle. but that was ok, because we loved her even with sketchy breeding.

she did have one trait that did indicate that she had a fair amount of beagle in her: she was obsessed with food. she spent just about her whole life on the hunt for food. especially if it was intended for cats.


from left to right: our lab mix Jude, my brother's dog Norah, and Copper, waiting at the back door to be let in

even though she was 17 years old, copper was still getting around and getting into the trash can and trying her best to get at the cat food- even if she fell down while doing it. She ate heartily until last week when she stopped eating and drinking and was no longer able to get around anymore. it broke our hearts to have to say goodbye to someone who had been a part of our family for so many years.

Copper never really cared for other dogs, or for playing, or for most things that typical dogs like. But she did love being with her family, laying in the dirt under our front porch on hot days, sleeping outside on cool nights, being snug in her crate, belly rubs, cat food, scraps from the trash, licking dirty plates in the dishwasher, and sitting at the back door making us feel bad for her.

our house won't be the same without her.