Goodbye is never easy.............

[Hare Chaser]

Had to bid farewell to an old and faithful 4 legged friend this morning. Hare Hammer'n Black Reba was laid to rest at ten years of age. She was not perfect but provided a lot of years of enjoyment. I'll remember her best as a snow dog. Never had a day where she could not circle a hare to the gun on snow. Had a few days where it was not easy but they were not the norm. She was always ready to go. Never bothered off game and handled as well as any dog I've owned in the last 41 years. Many enjoyable hunts to remember her by and a ton of video.

I've said goodbye to a number of them over the years but it's never been easy.

[SNOWDOGS1]

Sorry to hear Dan. Good ones are hard to come by. All the time it takes to bring out their full potential, it would sure be nice if they lived about twice as long as they do.

[BCBeagles]

Lots of good memories to keep that hound in your mind....good running to you and take care!

[Hare Chaser]

Thanks guys. We all know the years are short for our hounds. Especially the better ones.

[gfedor]

Sorry about your hound. It never never never gets easier. I had to put down my best all time hound this spring , peaches. She was a gun dog deluxe, honest as they come, clean running dog and a total pushover at home with the kids. Never once barked in the kennel ( just like her mom,grandmom ) . Lost part of my desire since,

[Hare Chaser]

Sorry about your hound. It never never never gets easier. I had to put down my best all time hound this spring , peaches. She was a gun dog deluxe, honest as they come, clean running dog and a total pushover at home with the kids. Never once barked in the kennel ( just like her mom,grandmom ) . Lost part of my desire since,

Hopefully in time the sting lessens and you find another pup to bring along. There's something about bringing along the next prospect that keeps me intrigued and helps lessen the sting of the loss.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

And I know that you ARE thinking about that future pup. Got to see Reba go numerous times and she could get it done.
Because I try not to ever return to northern New England in the middle of winter....... I never got to see her perform where she really stood out . On snow.
Sorry for the empty pen Dan.

[S.R.Patch]

Sorry for your loss, but my thinking is a little different from others. As hounds age and loose their ability to compete, they adapt to the point where they eliminate themselves as contributing to the pack. This is the truly sad time, as they suffer the loss of doing and being apart of where their breeding and desire pushes them.
Remembering my dear little Lucy hound, Nothing was as sad as seeing her struggle to keep up, her loss of hearing would find her separated and me having to go retrieve her, but I think at the time, she was in her own little world working out the line and doing her best to circle the rabbit. Loss of teeth and arthritis in her neck area would make her yelp at times. Her 11th year was one I was glad to see end along with her pain. The prior year she was fine and gave me a litter of 7 puppies.
The bright side is she left me with this number of puppies to carry on and I have her grand daughter who is the spit'n image of her g-g-grandmother Ivory, one of my first hounds in the family. That has been the interesting thing over time is seeing how the "take-afters" reappear down through the generations.
Good luck filling the hole and keep moving forward... Charles