This story is about the day I found my new dog, Casey. It was the last day of summer vacation 2006, also one day before 6th grade orientation, and my brother and I were watching a movie at home. Suddenly, our dad said, “Doug and Jack come downstairs, we have to go meet mom at work at the courthouse.” So then Jack and I sprinted down the stairs. Then we jumped into the car and drove off.

While we were driving, I asked, “Why do we have to meet mom at the courthouse?”

Dad answered, “It is a surprise, so you will find out when you get there.” After what seemed like hours, we finally pulled into the courthouse parking lot. We rushed out of the car and into the courthouse. On the way in, I saw a woman with a dog on a leash. As I passed by, I saw that the dog was a beautiful Beagle. We got inside and saw our mom and all of these other people that worked at the courthouse talking in the hallway. In the hallway, I saw the same Beagle who I had just seen out in the parking lot. My mom asked my dad, Jack, and I if we wanted to keep her.

Without hesitation I said, “ Yes ”. But before my dad and my brother answered, my mom told us the whole story of how she escaped from a puppy mill that was a long way away from the courthouse for a dog. I thought of how the dog must have felt walking and not knowing where she was going. All alone on the streets in the pouring rain, as she was only a puppy, and so I realized that it was a tough life for her so far. Our mom also told us that it was her friend’s friend that brought her into the courthouse. Since no one else wanted the Beagle we got to keep her. We stayed at the courthouse for what seemed like a long time, to name her and figure out how we were going to adjust to this situation. Then Jack said, “how about we name her Casey.”

“I love that name,” said my mom.

Then my dad said, “I think that could work.” My dad asked, “What about you, Doug?”

I added, “Sure I’m ok with that name.” Casey is my mom’s maiden name and would have been my first name if I was a girl. Then we left the courthouse and drove wildly over to a pet supply store called Petco. When we entered Petco, it looked like heaven for pet supplies. While we were in the store Casey was extremely nervous about her new home and she peed in the middle of the pet store. I thought about when I was just born and how nervous I must have been during the car ride home from the hospital. I didn’t know what was going on, and when I arrived home I saw a dog (of course I didn’t know it was a dog at the time, she was my first dog and her name was Rudy) and I didn’t know what it would or could do to me. But, it turned out that she slept next to my crib every night to protect me (that’s another story for another day). On the car ride home, Casey was very excited and you could tell because she was shedding dog hair all over the seat. In the car I said to Casey, “You are going to love your new home.” Then I asked Dad, “Is Casey going to be able to stay out of her cage before she goes to sleep?”

Dad said, “Of course she can.” We got home and when we opened the door, Casey started running all around the house. It took us at least 5 minutes to catch her and get her to calm down. Then Jack took Casey’s pet bed and carried it into his room and put it down.

I said, “ Casey isn’t sleeping in your room tonight ”

“Yeah she is, because she loves me more,” stated Jack.

I replied, “She hasn’t even been here for 1 day and besides, she is sleeping in her cage tonight.” “ Just ask Dad,” I added.

“ Daaaaddd,” wined Jack. “ Is Casey sleeping in her cage tonight,” he asked.

Dad exclaimed, “ Of course she is ” Since that night, we always have loved Casey and sometimes there are times when we all have been extremely worried about her. For example, once we left Casey home alone and we forgot that a cabinet was open and in it were two small boxes of chocolates. Then later, when we got home, we found out that she got a hold of them and ate them. Everybody that owns a dog knows that dogs can’t eat chocolate because they could die from it. Dad had to call the vet so he could get some medicine to give Casey for that night. We were all mortified that night because even though she didn’t eat a lot of chocolates, as they were only small boxes, it doesn’t really matter. But then we woke up the next morning and saw that she was fine and she felt a lot better. We were all so happy and relieved because she could have been terribly sick.

Beagles have very long ears that are also very soft. Another time when she was running around in the yard, her ears were flapping around and she must have got one caught on something. She had a cut on her ear and it was bleeding like crazy. Of course it was on a Saturday night when the animal hospital was not open, so my dad had to put a bandage and tape on it to heal the wound. Now, you can’t even tell she had a cut there. She still does not like it when people touch her ears, and she growls to let them know it. She is the best Beagle a family could ever wish for.