Farewell, Faithful Friend

Today was a very sad day in our home. Clark's family is in town for a couple of weeks, so we were getting ready to head to MeeMaw & Kimpaw's house to spend the day with them. When Greg walked outside, he found Bailey laying right outside the door, perfectly still. He came home sometime during the night, curled up by the door, and died. He had been showing lots of signs of aging, so we knew this was going to happen soon. But all the knowing doesn't prepare you for how you feel when it actually happens.

Right now my heart is heavy and my mind is flooded with memories of my very first "baby." Here are just a few of them.

Welcome Home! Bailey was born on November 5, 1999. We brought him home on December 26.

He used to tear up everything! This time it happened to be a roll of paper towels.

We finally got him a toy to chew on instead.

Pre-kid days when our dogs were allowed in the house—and even on the furniture!


With Sheba, his first "sister." This picture used to set on my desk at work.

First Christmas at our house.

We even took them to see Santa!

Playing in last winter's surprise snow.

Here he is with Hannah. She absolutely adored this dog, and the feeling was mutual!

And here he is with Millie. This picture was taken about two and a half weeks ago; you can see how tired he looks.

He was truly a great companion and will be missed by all of us.

I thought a little bit today about whether or not to change my signature, but I think I'm going to leave it just like it is. I don't have a beagle in my arms tonight, but I still have one in my heart. And I'm pretty sure I always will.