Today marked one year since we had to say good-bye to our beloved beagle, Belle. It's easier to take a year later. We always knew that someday we would have to let her go. We had hoped it would not be the way it ended up, but that was not for us to decide. But hopefully her story will help others with their own ordeal. And as much as I grew to hate that horrible tumor, it now sits banked at University of Illinois and may yet serve some useful purpose through reasearch and study.
Meanwhile, in May of '03, we decided that calling just Chester wasn't quite right. And not having a beagle about couldn't go on. So with one chapter in our lives ended, a new one began when we brought Sugarbaby home and shortened her name to Sugar. She's a rascal of a puppy with a passion for tracking the rabbits from last night through the yard and getting her belly rubbed. Oh yes, and chewing things she finds lying about, the cause of the decrease in the kids' toys! She can never replace Belle, but she has carved a place all her own and given us a beagle to love.
The hopes and prayers of other canine cancer fighters go out to those struggling with their own journey.
Good luck,
Joel, Chester, Sugar and ^Belle^