As many of you know, our pets become like family to us over the years. Of course, that was our situation with our dogs, Hooper and Beau Beau.

Hooper was actually rescued from a shelter in Colorado by Randy and Melissa. He was in the family before the children arrived and made all of the moves with them from Evergreen to Waco, Palestine, and finally Austin.

Once at our home, he stayed because there was a big, shady yard for him to enjoy (and he had an eye condition that was made worse by the sun). We grew to love him as much as Randy, Melissa, Keegan, McKenna, and Brielle. Even though we are not sure how old Hooper was when he was rescued, a vet said probably about two years old. So, this year he would have been about 15. On February 27, he left us due to a coronary problem. Terry and Randy buried him on the back of our property, and all of the family miss him very much. He was loved very much by all of us.

Beau Beau grabbed my heart the first time I saw him as a puppy. He was a half-brother to the poodle that Jennifer Guentzel chose as her gift in May 1990. Even though we weren’t looking for a pet at that time, I HAD TO HAVE that precious little black poodle with brown color highlights echoing each half of his body. He was our “house” dog, and we were never alone.

Beau wanted to be with us at all times, even brought his dog food from the dish to where we were sitting before he would eat. His last couple of years were tough — lost his eyesite, his hearing, and had several bad seizures. In August, Beau left us and Melissa buried him in a grave that Terry prepared next to Hooper. Beau was a special little dog who will always have a special place in my heart, and I miss him very much, too.