[Dailydrool] Quietly at his residence -- Vernon Q Basset, 2000 (?) - 2015

[Mary Wilson via Dailydrool]

Hello droolers,

Vernon Q Basset took his leave for the Bridge this morning at around 9:30.
He died very peacefully, just breathing more and more quietly until he
wasn't. He'd been slowing down a lot in recent months, but he only really
became ill yesterday in the late morning, so this was a very quick
departure.

Vern came to us from the local shelter. (According to him, he had been
jailed for a crime he did not commit.) When he arrived, he seemed like
quite an old dog. He was quite chubby and slow and seemed relatively
unfamiliar with the idea of walks outside. He quickly came to love them,
racing along through the trees with Paddi and especially enjoying walks to
and along the beach.  He did love sitting on the couch, especially on top
of my partner Robbie (Mr. Not-enough-biscuits, from Vern's perspective.)
Whoever had dropped him off at the shelter had had him for only a week, so
we had basically no information about him, but we always imagined that he
had been the dog of an older man who watched a lot of television. There was
never, ever such a comfortable dog for sitting on your lap! Although he
weighed 55 pounds in his prime, he seemed almost boneless.

Vern was just Vern when he arrived, but since Paddi was Paddi B Basset by
that time, Vern seemed a bit plain. He became Vernon Q Basset, Basset of
Mystery, since we knew nothing about him. We learned a lot! We learned that
he was an exceptional climbing basset, scaling the heights of the dining
room table to eat peanut butter and thinking really hard about climbing the
cat tree. He was a counter cruiser among counter cruisers, and finally
completely defeated Robbie's attempts to keep him out of the trash can. (We
had to move it out of the kitchen to the front porch.)

He was at his absolute best as a caregiver. My mother-in-law, disabled by a
stroke, lived with us for four years. Vernon Q Basset spent virtually every
afternoon sitting gently on her on the couch, keeping her warm and honestly
providing her with the best possible companionship. We worried at first
that he would be too heavy for her, but he never was.

Rest in peace, Vernon Q -- you've earned your rest.

Mary
with Paddi B Basset, Simba the mountain dog, and
Vernon Q Basset & Billy B Basset, ATB
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