We lost one of our best friends last week. Beau was a staple around our house. We rescued him from a kill shelter when he was a pup of 1 1/2 years old. Always timid and quiet, he kind of got the short end of the stick sometimes when it came to pets and play. But when the thunderstorms started, he got ALL the attention and stayed plastered to my lap until all danger was gone.

When Beau reached 16 it was clear he was having lots of difficulties from hearing to sight to severe arthritis in his legs. He finally let us know that he wanted to be a pup again and go play in the grass. So we let him go. It was a difficult and heartwrenching decision to make but one we knew we had to allow.

Beau is now with our other pets lying in the sun and playing together, although the cats would probably not deem it as play. We miss him as we miss all of the others but he will always be in our hearts. Have a good romp Beau.