One Year Later: Our Magical Journey With Snoopy The Wonder Beagle

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our beloved senior wonder beagle, Snoopy, crossing the rainbow bridge. I wrote this post after taking time to process the amazing gift that was the Snoop.

I’m sharing it again in his memory and to underscore that this is not a “sad” story. We would take this journey again in a heartbeat, and Michael & I both urge folks to please consider rescuing senior dogs. Snoopy was an amazing, joyful adventure I wouldn’t trade for anything.

It was the magic of Snoopy that led us some weeks later to rescue mama Scarlett and her then-10-week-old pup, Brody.

At Christmas time, I made this video for Michael celebrating the Snoop. I love that we have all these clips of Snoopy in one place to enjoy. Hit play and you’ll get a sense of the 14-year-old furball of doggie delight.

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Michael and I are very sad to share that Snoopy the wonder beagle crossed the rainbow bridge last Sunday, October 4, 2020.

Shortly after he adopted us, we noticed he had a recurring cough and had trouble relieving himself. We hoped it was just a change in homes and food, but within a week it was confirmed that he had advanced prostate cancer and it had spread to his lungs.

We were given options for treatment from just anti-inflammatories to help him be comfortable (but not address the growing tumor and nodules in his lungs) to IV chemotherapy. We knew Snoopy’s quality of life – especially at 14 and a half years old – was most important.

We decided to try two rounds of chemo and then re-check to see how he was doing. He also took the anti-inflammatory, plus medicinal herbs and CBD which seemed to really help him.

Long story short, he did well for months, but then last week his appetite declined. Snoopy was a voracious eater (a true hound) especially the home-cooked meals Michael would make for him every week. Over the week, he began to decline, and then on Friday, he stopped eating. By last Sunday, he’d decided and we knew we had to be the adults and help him pass peacefully.

We never shared his diagnosis publicly because he was doing well for months. So many of our friends celebrated him and his awesome, joyful spirit, and we didn’t want people to think of him as the ‘cancer dog.’

We want everyone to remember him for the spunky, effervescent soul that he was and always will be in our hearts.

When we first came across Snoopy’s story – that his family had surrendered him at 14 1/2 years old – we saw the spirit in his oh-so-handsome face and knew we had to make his senior years as wonderful as we could.

We had just lost Bear, the last of our ‘dachshund dynasty’, and missed dog energy in our house. We never expected to be found by this very special soul.

Some folks think we rescued Snoopy, but we’re certain that it was he that rescued us.

We are heartbroken, but we don’t regret bringing a senior rescue into our family. If we hadn’t, we’d have missed one of the best chapters of our lives.

Our time with him was too short – just three months – but this little man definitely changed us for good.

We celebrate Snoopy and his awesome spirit.

My final words – please consider an adult or senior rescue for your next furry family addition. Our time with Snoopy was magical and rich, and we feel blessed to have had this awesome adventure.