I never wrote about our wonderful friend Huckleberry Hound. He didn't do noteworthy things like the Beagles - no baby rabbit heads stuffed between the chair cushions or falling asleep while sitting and falling over. Instead he was an exceptional dog and an excellent companion and a loyal friend. He was polite and loved to go for a walk, he never followed his nose into the brush leaving me alone. He was perfectly happy to lay quietly in the garden next to me while I weeded and pruned. I think he could have been a Sawtelle dog if he'd been given the opportunity.

We adopted him when he was a year and half old, I saw an ad in the Free section of the paper and I knew he was meant for us. Apparently he had had a troubled background, his original owner had beat him. The interim caretaker was a single mom with 2 girls, the girls adored Huckleberry and he adored them but their budget was so tight they couldn't afford to take him to the vet or even feed another mouth. Plus, they lived in town and Huck liked to run down the street to the neighbors.

He fit in to our little household immediately, we had a trainer come up and train me. Huck's job was to take care of the yard and he did. He was a good trainer for any new dogs that joined our family, always ready to take a rambunctous puppy outside or help with the potty training. That was in 1995, last year he had surgery for cancer. He made it another year with the help of pain medication. On Tuesday we had to say goodbye. I can't believe he's really gone. Goodnight old friend....