We adopted Mickey from a shelter in Scarborough 16 years ago and she provided many years of wonderful memories.
We quickly discovered she needed a little "training" so Barry took her to obedience classes. The trainer just shook his head and said "a beagle - might as well save your money, you'll never train her!" Well she failed obedience classes, but did learn to sit.
Mickey had the best nose in the world and a bit of a food addiction. She could find food no matter where it was. Once we hid a bag of Hallowe'en candy in the closet. Mickey found it. We always put bread or buns as far back on the counter as we could so she couldn't get at it. We would go out and when we got home we'd find a chewed plastic bag on the floor and a guilty look on Mickey's face. To this day we don't know how she got it - we think she and the cat had a deal and the cat was pushing it off for her. One day we found her on the diningroom table with her head in the caesar salad. She loved visiting London because visits usually centered around food for her - icecream cones from Uncle Wayne! Thanksgiving and Christmas treats from Oma. And the famous strawberry torte (a family favourite - and apparently a favourite of Mickeys). Oma put it on the ironing board for safekeeping. Mickey found it. And enjoyed it. We never fed her at the table. Then she met John who thought...I'll just slip her a little something. Whats the harm? For the next few months, Mickey would sit by his side at the table and stare at him and HOWL. He never fed her from the table again. One evening John had a Lions meeting in the livingroom. There were many people and lots food so Mickey had to go behind the gate in the kitchen. For two hours, she howled and howled. They never had another Lions meeting at our house. Mickey had very few teeth left by the end of her life, but it didn't matter - she was still eating dry dog food - if it was food - it was edible. Even without teeth.
Mickey was famous for escaping. Barry once let her off the leash by the Credit River. His logic was how far could she go? He came home 2 hours later, exhausted and a mess from running through the woods following her famous beagle howl. She was just following her nose! There was the time I opened the front door and Animal Control was there with a beagle on a leash. Is she yours? Oops. Back gate was left open. Yes, she was mine, $50 later. One night I went to go to bed and asked "where is Mickey?". She was gone. No idea how, but we think the patio door may have been left open for a minute and she simply walked out and kept walking. A search of the neighbourhood turned up nothing. Frantic calls to animal shelters turned up nothing the next day. Finally got a call in the afternoon that she had been brought in, she was fine and I could come pick her up - another $50 please. At this point in her life she was partially blind and hard of hearing and how she managed to keep safe for a whole night of wandering the streets of Mississauga we'll never know. When the Malones in London dog-sat for us they well remember the panic they felt if Mickey made it out the back door! One night at the cottage in Quebec, Mickey slipped out the back door at 3 a.m. We all panicked. However, Mickey didn't like the dark. She strolled down the driveway and then sat down and waited for us to come get her. Too dark to go in the woods!
Mickey loved camping. The outdoors, the wildlife, the smells! But as soon as the sun was almost down, you would find her scratching at the tent door wanting to go to bed. No sitting by the fire for her!
She was a very friendly dog. Loved other animals and loved people. Our nieces in London remember her as "Lickey Mickey" because when the girls were little she loved to shower them with kisses. Her Grandma Marchen remembers her as "an unforgettable beagle. She had the most beautiful coat. It didn't matter how long it had been since the last time she saw you she greeted you with BIG hugs and kisses." Camping friends Carol, Matt and Melissa write "the kids will miss her - when we talk dogs/pets Mickey's name always comes up". Camping friend Jeff writes "She was a good dog and part of Two Rivers for me." She may have been a good camper but Barry remembers her as "not much of a canoer". Mickey hated the water.
When I moved to south Mississauga, the house had a large bay window in the kitchen. This is where the kitchen table sat. And this is where Mickey decided we had put the table for her to get up on to look out at what was happening outside. Our neighbours loved to tell me how they would watch her sitting or laying on the kitchen table. She has passed this little habit on to all of the other animals in the house - 3 cats and another dog. No one wants to eat at our table any more.
Mickey had many run-ins with skunks. One night in the backyard she got sprayed and when we opened the patio door she slipped back in before we noticed. She ran all over the house rubbing herself on everything trying to get the smell off. Poor Brandon went to school the next day apparently still smelling of skunk which earned him the name "skunk boy" by his classmates. Kids can be so cruel! Mickey of course didn't learn her lesson and managed to get sprayed again. When it happened, Brandon ran to his room, closed his door, stuffed clothes under the door and kept spraying his room with Febreeze. Apparently he didn't want to be called skunk boy again.
Mickey lived a long and wonderful life. We will miss her big brown eyes, her happiness when we got home, her love of food, her companionship and her excitement to explore. Mickey was cremated and will be buried in the spring and a memorial tree or plant will be planted in her honour. Thanks for the memories Mickey. You truly were our best friend.