[Dailydrool] Woo's Auntie Barbara Wicklund

[bassetslave at comcast.net]

Pawtunia's breederslave is supposed to be writing out a note for me to post, based on his conversation with Barb's sister. I told Hank it was not mine to share information, but he said her sister asked him to tell folks, and he asked me to post to the Drool, so here's what I know. 



She was staying a nursing  home. This was along  with her husband, Al, who reportedly has a pretty fair degree of cognitive problems. Her sister visited her the other day and got the call the same evening that Barb had passed. I asked Hank if there was to be a funeral or service. He said her sister wanted it to be with the 'dog people'. When I asked if that meant in a ring at Nationals, he said no.......but that it would likely be at a specialty show in the future. I was kidding. Hank was not. 



Amanda has added Barbara to the howliday,  "Hero's List" several times over the years. While many people add friends and family who might like cards, it always seemed that Barbara was  one person on the list who actually was a hero to the bassets. She spent decades saving them. She showed them. She represented them to the AKC. She literally wrote the book on them.   ..and she had any number in her house. When she became ill, her houndies and other pets were found homes. (Hank says there is one  rotweiler mix who her sister has in a kennel.) Hank and Sharon have now inherited Nestor.....who is 15, adorable, white and fluffy.....eats his bowl, goes out to do his thing....and who will try and take your arm off if you pet him. Even after she left her basset rescue , she adopted a houndie who had looooong been in the kennel.....finding it amusing, well, that he had bitten or tried to bite someone that Barbara really did not like. She took that houndie and had him entered in obedience or rally or something......and proudly reminded me several times why she took him. 



Someone, yesterday, used the term enigma for Barb. She could be very tough and was definately a my way or the highway kind of lady.......she gave us our first rescue guy, Woo <*>, telling us it would be for 30 days. Yeah, right. Her only word of instruction, "Diet."    After her departure from the rescue group she started, Rich and I had a plaque made up for her. She declined to show up and accept it. One of the last things he and I did before we left that same group, was bring it to a dog show, knowing she would be there. She grumbled at me until I told her that we didn't use rescue money to pay for it. Her eyes did look a bit shin y and I choose to think she was secretly pleased. 



I can't say Barbara was my friend, we generally got along pretty well........ but meeting her lead to a lot of things that changed my life and to a lot of people who are now my friends. She was happy that Rusty came to that dog show.....because he was the "Parade of Rescue"....but couldn't resist telling me he should have been preregistered. 



The day I met her, she looked down at feyfey and said she looked like, "One of those Scully hounds." She knew her bassets. A year or two later, Feyfey was at a picnic and Barbara had a big cake.....Feyfey gave her "the look" for what seemed like hours. Barb stared her down and said, "I've been looking into basset eyes for 30 years and you aren't getting any!" If there is any justice, Feyfey was between Barb and the buffet at the bridge . 



dawn 

....for fey, woo, syd , newman , nudgie , taco bell who visited a lot, cakie, pawtunia  and rusty 

...if Hank writes what he said is coming....I will post it!
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