Cassie

March 1997 – June 2012 Cassie came into our lives when she was approximately 8 years old. Our friend, Kim Cole, rescued her because her previous owners wanted to put her down for no good reason! The problem was she did not have a place for Cassie and asked us to take care of her only until Kim could “get an appropriate place for her”. In essence, Kim was her owner/parent and we were her foster parents. This arrangement worked well for us. Kim visited when she could and provided for all of Cassie’s needs (food, toys, vet bills, etc.). At first, we were not sure Cassie was going to work out. She would mess on the floor and completely ignored you when you tried to teach her anything. Eventually, she came around. It did not take long for Cassie to win our hearts and become our other dog, Gypsy’s, companion. We heard that most beagles were stubborn but Cassie would take it to the nth degree. Whenever she got out, she would completely ignore us if we called her by her name. Matt would yell out, “BEAGLE” and she would come right away. Thereafter, most of the family would call her, “Beagle”. Cassie was overweight most of her life, even though we tried giving her weight loss type dog food. All she would have to do, while we were eating, is come over and put her head on your lap. You just had to give in when she looked at you with those big Beagle eyes.   In addition, Cassie was completely food-obsessed. If you left anything edible where she could reach it, she would get it before you knew it – sometimes right under your nose! Once she climbed up on the dining table and got into Gypsy’s medicine. Both of them had to be treated for an overdose! Another time, Cassie got into the cupboard and almost chewed the lid off of a container of Cheez-Whiz. She did not even like cheese! After that, Earl always called her “Can Opener”. Cassie got rather set in her ways in her later years. Last winter, she developed a strange way of showing her displeasure. If she wanted a treat, and you did not give her one, she would go outside and bring in a piece of feces! Of course, she would get a strong reaction from us, which only reinforced her behavior. After Gypsy passed away last year, Papa spoiled Cassie even more. He called her, “Cassie Lou”. She was always near him and he almost ran over her with his wheelchair more than once. After a diagnosis of cancer in the roof of her mouth, Home to Heaven helped her on June 19th, 2012. We miss her but are comforted by the thought she is no longer suffering and we are grateful for sharing Cassie’s last 7 years of life.