Welcome home Henry

Saturday, September 15, we drove up to New Hampshire to meet a beagle who had had a pretty bad start in life – kept in a crate for most of his early days – he had been a bit pent up. The beagle rescue B.O.N.E.S. who tirelessly rescues beagles from all over New England had arranged the visit -Henry (formerly Mickey) was kindly being taken care of by a kennel and boarding establishment in Newfields, NH called Bittersweet Kennels (very nice of them to tend to an unwanted beagle).

We drove up and it was pouring down rain -we were pensive and still harboring a lot of sadness from the loss of Gus – but missing the companionship that a beagle brings. At the front desk we let them know we were there to see him. Still nervous!

And all of a sudden, from around the corner, pulling hard on his short leash, comes Henry – with a stuffed bunny rabbit in his mouth, wagging his tail right on cue. Its like he thought to himself, “how cute can I make myself” and we felt as if Gus had given him some cues and instantly we fell in love with this 10 month old boy. His spirit had not been broken by the months in the crate and you could tell that he was just as happy as we were.

So yesterday, we popped him in the Zip car, drove to one of Gus’s favorite hiking spots on the Great Bay in NH and let Henry have his first taste of freedom and prepared for many long years of pampering and travel.

Here’s to you Henry – not a replacement but a new spirit that is already chasing away the sadness and allowing Gus’s memory to be recalled with joy, rather than tears.

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