In Memory of Little Beowulf

Barton & Beowulf chilling out.

Last spring, Barton and I were walking our two dogs Bear and Basho in our neighborhood when a little 3-month puppy ran up to us & began playing with Bear & Basho. Normally our black labs go nuts & bark at other dogs, but this time they didn’t- they let the puppy tug on their ears.

It was clear this little dog was lost, and we did know he had just been neutered. When we did find the owners later in the day, Beowulf, as we called him, sat down by Barton’s wheelchair and refused to move. What a fun story that we told when we realized the owners were actually foster parents searching for a permanent home for him. It looks like he found his family.

The poor little guy had mange and lost all the fur on his head & legs, which eventually grew back. Little Beowulf also had some developmental problems, and he had actually just had surgery before we found him.

Were we insane when we considered adopting him with two other dogs? Probably, but the three played so well together, and Beowulf quickly became Barton’s dog. He would just fit in Barton’s lap, and he had just learned to crawl up onto Barton’s wheelchair. His usual perch was on Barton’s footrest, and he looked like a guard dog with his chest all puffed out. If I were sitting down, he would crawl into my lap or curl up between Barton & I- he was one of the most snuggly dogs I had ever met.

Beowulf- The Guard Puppy

Beowulf and Basho (the middle dog) played and played, wrestling for hours. Outside, Beowulf would race to his guard post under the ramp landing. He would wait for Basho to get just a little closer, stalk him and pounce. He would tackle Basho, and egg him on to begin a chase around the yard. And inside, we learned very quickly not to leave clothes on the floor & anything that could be chewed went up on higher levels.

Sadly, we lost little Beowulf this last weekend when we found that there were problems beyond our scope of care. We are heartbroken, but oh, do we have stories to tell.

Comments

comments