Beamer came into our lives when she was 6 mos old. Cheyenne's roommate at the time had a dog and had recently moved out, so he wanted another dog to keep Bentley company. And this is how our story of Beamer began...
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| Beamer and Bentley, approx. 6-7 mos old |
Cheyenne got her from a couple that said they could no longer care for her. So we picked her up, took her home, and soon we realized why the couple had a hard time caring for her. She was CRAZY! But in a good way. She had a lot of energy and a LOT of love to give and she was moving 24/7.
Soon after Beamer entered our lives she found her one true love, Cheyenne. I would always say that Beamer loved Cheyenne more than me and his mother and it was absolutely true. She would get so excited when he was around that she would actually tremble and shake. If Cheyenne went into a room, she would follow right behind. Sometimes Cheyenne would even have to get on to her about it. "I'm just going to get a drink Beamer, I'll be right back. Stay there!" And she would...watching...trembling. When Cheyenne started working from home a few years ago, the poor girl was exhausted. Instead of having a day to sleep away, now Cheyenne was home all day. Which meant she was on following duty all day long. The poor girl never got any sleep.
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| Gotta make sure he's still breathing.... |
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She was great with our kids. Both dogs are. We had read horror stories of dogs who act out once you bring a new child home, but neither dog did. They were so good with Lincoln that we let Lincoln play a little too rough with them, not realizing they did not like it. When Lincoln was learning to crawl, he would crawl over the dogs, like a mountain to be conquered. On one such occasion while Lincoln was crawling over Mt. Beamer, she let out a low growl. Not threatening, no teeth showing, but just a "hey, I'm kind of done putting up with this." We heard her loud and clear and made sure Lincoln no longer used them as a jungle gym. I know it's weird, but I was always so grateful to her for that warning. For letting us know without snapping at or biting Lincoln.
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| Not Amused |
Beamer was a people dog, not really a dogs-dog. If a new dog was around, she would get her sniffs in, but then walk away. Beamer loved people! And if you have ever been to our house, you know she never leaves the room while guests are here. And as a parting gift, our guests would leave covered in her hair.
While she wasn't a dogs-dog, she did have one that she loved. Her sister Bentley. We called them yin and yang, lazy and crazy. They used each other as pillows and were never far apart. Over the years they had made some sort of agreement amongst themselves about who went outside and came inside first. Bentley, even if she's at the door first will stand there and wait until Beamer runs past, then she will go outside. Same thing coming back inside. Even if Bentley is at the door, she will wait until Beamer runs in from the yard, then she will enter. This morning I went to let Bentley out and she just stood there. She's waiting for Beamer to go out first. I had to nudge her out so she would go and it broke my heart all over again.
In December Beamer became very weak and could barely move. She wouldn't eat. She would not follow Cheyenne from room to room, nor did she greet him when he came home. So we knew she was not well. The diagnosis was an enlarged heart. We were given meds, but told this would be fatal in the end and she maybe had a year left. We were devastated.
Of course the happiest dog in the world had an enlarged heart. She loved everyone and everything, just too much love.
So we decided then to give her the best damn year of her life. Things that were off limits before (couch, bed, etc) were now ok.
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She seemed to be doing well despite her diagnosis. Yesterday was a normal day. She was fine. Cheyenne played fetch with her at 4:30, all was well. Then we noticed she'd pooped in the floor. When we told her to go outside, she couldn't get up on her back legs. She was now whining/crying and wouldn't stop. We rushed her to the Emergency Vet at Nashville Veterinary Specialists (who were amazing by the way) and it was basically decided that due to her age and heart problems there was not much to be done. She had a blood clot that was preventing her from walking. She was in so much pain, it was unbearable to watch. Even on pain medication she still seemed to be in so much pain.
So we took some time and told her how special she was to us, how much we loved her, and we said goodbye. It was one of the hardest things we've ever done, but she was hurting. I can't really talk too much about last night.
I now like to think she's following God room to room, with a tennis ball in her mouth. No longer in pain, running around Heaven with the legs and heart of her youth. I thank God for giving her to us for these 11 years. I have never in my life met an animal or human with as much love as she had. We will love her forever.
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