Category Archives: Bayley Murphey Beagle

Another Anniversary

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It’s been TWELVE (12)!!! years??! Holy cow. In spite of all the special dogs (Feargal, Fergus, Fred, Roux, Sascha, Bosco, Goose, Tessa and now Charlie) we’ve had since Bayley crossed the Rainbow Bridge, the first dog who enters your life always leaves the most special imprint on your heart. And Bayley was indeed a special first one. So much so that we remember him and his anniversaries all the time. Here’s the post from 12 years ago, maudlin and sentimental and all that.

Bayley Murphey Beagle
20-Aug-1994 — 2-Mar-2007

Dear Bayley Murphey,

Thank you for being such a wonderful and good dog, a loving companion, for keeping us sane, for loving us unconditionally, for being such an incredibly important part of our lives for 12-and-a-half years. Thank you for putting up with all the picture-taking, ear rubbing, nail clipping, bathing, teefs-brushing and hugs and kisses. Thank you for curling up against us on cold, winter nights. Thank you being the touchstone of our lives. Thank you for being you.

We tried hard to give you a good life, full of all the things that good dogs such as you deserve. From the time of your puppyhood until today, you tried so hard to be good and please us, and you always did. We are richer for having had you in our lives, much, much poorer for your passing. Your suffering is over, now it’s time to run baying through the fields, chasing rabbits, rolling in squirrel pee, and lying under a tree gnawing a never-ending supply of beagle bagels.

Rest and sleep well, pookus. You leave a very large hole in our hearts and our lives.

Love,
Dad, Unca Frankie, and Unca David.

Steve Pollock

Anniversaries … so bittersweet. Sigh.

Puppy Bayley, Plano, October 1994.
Young Bayley being dignified, Plano, 1995.
Bayley napping in the sun, San Francisco, 2001.
Bayley and Frank in Ann Arbor, Autumn 2003.
Me and Bayley, Ann Arbor, Autumn 2003.

Anniversary of Bittersweet Proportions

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Aug. 20 is always bittersweet now; not only is it Bayley’s birthday, but we also lost Fred on this day two years ago. Time always plays with my head; Bayley’s 20 years seems a very long time, but so does the last two years. An aggressive, fast-moving cancer robbed us of Fred-Fred, who was just 5. That was a Very. Bad. Day.

Strange how the furry, messy, loud, attention-hogging, walking stomachs get under your skin. Yes, “only” dogs. But they have a very special power to enrich and bless your life. Difficult and silly to explain and it’s different with people and all that but there it is.

We miss Fred and Bayley … lots, especially on this double anniversary. Still, no rest for the wicked—Fred’s brothers, Feargal and Fergus, are still going Beagle strong at 7-and-a-half and of course His Majesty The Roux has thoroughly Basset-ized the place. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

First Day of Spring

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It was a little chilly and blustery, but not bad. The best part was all the bright sunshine, which came after early morning thunderstorms which woke me up around 4:30 a.m. with two big loud thunderclaps.

We took the dog to check out Bird Hill Park, which is supposedly the largest in AA, but parking areas were muddy and trails were dirt, which meant more mud. We found one parking area off Newport Road, but an unleashed Doberman was being allowed full use, so we scrubbed that.

We ended up at Barton Dam Park, where there were lots of dogs, but it wasn’t too bad. We explored the area, which is really kinda nice, wore out the dog and then I drove through the Country Club area, which has a ‘private road’ posted with very obnoxious signs that might as well have said ‘you’re not a rich bitch in an SUV so you have no bidness up in here with us rich white folk. We got some stares, but I drove on through anyway. At one point, some snooty woman in a Suburban on her cell phone pulled out of the country club parking lot and followed us all the way out and through town. I thought she might use her phone to report that riff-raff were trying to drive through her snot town.

We scored many mega videos at the Mallett’s Creek branch library and came home.

Today is cold, blustery and not as sunny. Frank went to the store, dropped a bag and broke a jar of jelly and some eggs. Didn’t have a good trip. He made breakfast and now I’m going to take a long bath and then work on the konacasa.com site while watching movies.