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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext'>Well droolers and Foster Mommies and
Daddies of AZBHR, friends and family, it took me almost 5 months to do it,
it’s been a hard 5 months without her, but here it is at
last…….our tribute to our first foster girl with AZ Basset Hound
Rescue!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
14.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:windowtext'> </span></font><font
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:navy'>A Tribute to
our Baylie Ann Merola 7/16/1995 – 9/8/2008<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>She just needed a foster home for the weekend. AZBHR had just
rescued her from a breeder in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Tucson</st1:City></st1:place>
and she was only 5 years old. We were new with AZBHR and I thought,
“what is just a weekend, let’s try it”. She was petite
and red with sparkling white markings and LONG ears. She walked into our
home and climbed into Tim’s lap. It was love at first sight for
everyone and she claimed him as her Daddy within 5 minutes. That was
September 23, 2000. We adopted her just 2 days later!
“SHE” became our Baylie, Baylor Butts, Heart Butt and Goose
Chest! So many names for a princess! For 7 years, 11 months and 8
days we loved her with all of our being. She was our alpha, our sweet
girl, all wrapped in one. She pretty much ran the Basset show at our
house and kept everyone in line. She posed for more pictures than imaginable.
She knew how to do tricks!! I never knew a Basset could do tricks!
She would sit up, roll over and give paw for treats. Her Daddy discovered
this standing in front of the refrigerator one day with a piece of turkey in
his hand……she just sat up, rolled over and put her paw out as if
begging for it! She endured dozens of foster dogs and kept them all in
line, even another alpha girl, Penny Lyn, even Penny Lyn answered to
Baylie. She did not like it, but she knew Baylie was “in
charge” at the Merola household. She attended every Waddle, every
Howl-O-Ween and every other event known to AZBHR for all 7+ years and loved it!
She was also the first Basset to give our newborn son a gentle kiss on
the cheek when we got home from the hospital…..a very cherished memory!
In October 2007, Baylie was diagnosed with Apocrine Gland Adenocarcinoma, which
is a very malignant type of cancer in a tiny gland near the anal gland.
This type of tumor is common to Bassets, yet I had never heard of
it! It was caught very early and she went through 5 rounds of
chemotherapy to stop it from spreading and she gave us 13 more months of love,
truly unconditional and she was so brave! The first week of September
2008, Baylie would not eat, soooo NOT a Basset, especially not for Baylie, so
we knew her time was drawing near. We called our Veterinarian, Dr. <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Montana</st1:State></st1:place> and her
Oncologists, Dr. Waltman and Dr. Hillers. We wanted to let them know of
her situation and significant decline in her quality of life (maybe I just
needed to hear from them all that it was okay to let her go, I don’t
know!). Then we called the most wonderful Vet (Dr. Christina) who does
in-home euthanasia. Baylie had her favorite songs playing, our song to
her “I Believe” and she laid on her favorite bed in front of the TV
and had beautiful red flowers around her and candles lit everywhere to guide
her to The Bridge. Her angel, Dr. Christina helped her on her way to The
Rainbows Bridge on September 8, 2008 at 1:55pm. AJ and Mommy laid on her
bed with her and Daddy took pictures. We did paw prints, imprints in clay
and got a lock of fur to make a memory box and we planted a special flower
outside just for her. AJ said, “Baylie is with Jesus now Mommy, so
you don’t have to cry anymore because now she can eat steak and corn on
the cob and everything again”! So, we all cried some more and held
her and covered her beautiful fur with tears. Saying goodbye is always so
hard, but there was something different with this loss. Maybe it is
because she was our very first foster, or maybe it is because she was our
“pack leader” or maybe it was just because she was our
Baylie. I do not know, but on September 8, 2008, a piece of our hearts
went to The Bridge with her. The Merola household is so quiet and our
pack is very confused about who the leader is now, but we are slowly
adjusting. I want to take this moment to thank AZBHR for rescuing an
extremely beautiful part of our lives. We are forever changed by her love
and loyalty and if it were not for AZBHR, we would not have been blessed by her
life! So, we have said our goodbyes, but not forever. We are so
blessed to look at our Bassets and know how special they each are and how much
love they give. Losing Baylie just amplified our love for the ones we
still have……..Skipper, Jennie, Joey and Sophia
Jolene……..and all the fosters that have come and gone and to all
the ones to come…….Baylie started a special tradition in our
lives……..foster one, even just for a weekend, and watch it change
your life……wow, it sure changed ours! Thank you again to all
the incredible volunteers and foster families with AZBHR! We love you
all!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>Tim, Monique, and AJ Merola<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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