Penny will always be loved

On July 15, 2010 our seventeen year old beagle name Penny went down for the last count due to illness.   She wasour beloved family dog and taught me the true meaning companionship.  No matter what kind of day I was having, Penny would always greet me with a wag of her long slender tail and look up at me with her bright brown eyes.  When it came to yard work, Penny was my company while I trimmed  or pruned roses and palms leafs.  She would crawl right between my legs as I pulled weeds or rest in the shade if the sun got too hot for her liking as I worked in the yard. Penny would patiently wait for something to fall off the barbecue as I cooked some burgers, ribs, chicken or hot-dogs.  Penny loved playing with soup bones and would bury them in the yard along with  lost socks she would find next to the dryer. I knew Penny always had my back and gave such unconditional love to me and my family.

 One very early Sunday morning, I heard Penny howling  pretty aggressively outside my bedroom window.  The only time Penny would howl in this manner was because of a possum or squirrel running along the back fence.  She couldn't help her hound dog roots when it came to critters.   I got out of bed and opened my window and tried to look around to see what has happening.  Penny's howling just got louder and I felt  a sense of urgency in her tone.  "What going on Penny? Is it a possum?" I asked.    She just ran away from my window about step or two and kept howling. 

So I decide to investigate, I ran out to the backyard  in my pajamas hoping that what ever was out there, I would be able to scare away with the water hose.   Penny saw me from the sliding  door window of the deck and ran up to the deck stairs, howled and ran back to my sister. My sister had fallen face down in the back yard and no one but Penny knew what had happened.    I yelled for help as I ran out to help my sister, Penny sat right beside her and continued to howl.

 Shortly after, our dad came out to help me pick my sister off the grass.  My sister's face had a cut on the left side and was bleeding.  She was very frighten from the fall and didn't have the strength to get back up.  Penny ran circles around us as we carefully pick up my sister and placed her on a wheel chair.   As we bought my sister back into the house, Penny followed suite as a concerned family member. 

My sister started falling at home more often as the MS became more aggressive.  Every other Sunday morning, my sister get up early in the morning just to  unlock the side gate so the gardener would come to do the usual cutting of the lawn and blowing off the dust from the back patio.   My sister would place a leash on Penny because Penny had the tendency to wonder off.  However, this time my sister took a fall and couldn't place Penny on her leash.  If it wasn't for Penny coming to my sister's rescue, my sister could have been in serious trouble from the fall since she had fallen face down.  
When my dad feel off the ladder and broke both of his ankles, Penny ran up to him and try to comfort him by licking his face.  She sat right beside by dad until the paramedics  took him to the hospital.  One time, when my mom came from the hospital after an operation and needed to stay in her bedroom to recuperate.  Penny laid at the her bedroom door way and did not budge. Penny would follow my mom when she got out of bed to the restroom and wait for her to come out.  Then, follow my mom back to her bedroom and stated at the door way.   If my mom had trouble getting off of a chair, Penny would start to howl for help.  My mom said" It's okay Penny, thank you".  I would come to see why Penny was howling and found my mom stuck in her chair trying to stand up.

There are many warm heartfelt memories we have of our Penny.   My heart still aches for her and we sure miss having her around.  We know she is in a special place that God as made just for her because God know how much she meant to us.  We miss you Penny (my Pooh)!