I've been in Heaven now since Tuesday August 2nd, 2005 and have been having a grand time. I'm waiting for Beau to join me, although I know that will be many years. I can't wait till he gets to the gate. He may think he will get in, but he will have to wrestle me to get there. The minute I see him, I will put my head down, and pull his legs out from under him, just like I did when we played together in life

My family added the Belle to my name after they adopted me, but most often, they just called me Belly. I think that was because I was always lifting my leg so they could rub my tummy. Now if you notice, I was always a lady. Do you see that tail, it is tightly pulled up to my chest; a girl must be somewhat modest after all.

I was a little older than Beau, and was born on April 28th, 2000. Because I was older than Beau, I was able to get my first new hip first; yes, I also had hip dysplasia. I was in a lot of pain before my surgeries, in fact, it was so bad, that everyone thought I was too aggressive. I really wasn't, but everything hurt so bad.

I knew my surgery went well, and felt better right away. Even though the surgery hurt, I still felt better. Eventually, I had both hips replaced, and oh, what a difference. That's my Dad. I loved to jump up and show him how well my new hips worked. I jumped every day, every time someone would come in a room, any time I wanted attention. Sometimes I would stand at the door, and just jump, over and over again. Everyone was so impressed. When I would jump on someone, my jumps were so gentle, I would jump so high, but my paws would settle gently on their hands, as light as a feather.

I got lots of attention when I was healing. This is Allison off to the right; I think you already know her from pictures you saw on Beau's Page. She gave me lots and lots of loving. I wasn't real sure about all this attention, and it took a long time before I felt that I could trust people to hug me, but eventually I grew to trust my new family and let them give me really big hugs.

That's my Mom on the left. It took a while to train her how to hold me just right, but finally she got it down. I think I could use more of this. You would never believe the change in me since my surgeries; I had really started to enjoy being held, and was relaxing more with it each passing day. Of course, I was fully healed by the time this picture was taken.

Hey, you have to look at this picture on the right. Is that a great profile or what?

Yesterday, Mom was remembering me, and also thinking of Goldie. I think she said it best when she said that Goldie loved life, but I truly was truly ecstatic with life. Everything in the world was exciting to me, whether it was someone simply walking in a room, or trying to catch that moth.

Here I am with my Teddy Bear. Actually it was Beau's bear, but we shared everything. Actually he shared, and I took things away. He liked sharing with me. Even if he was eating a bone, I could take it from his mouth, and he never complained.

Beau was quite the friend to me, especially the last few months of my life, when the lymphoma hit me so hard. We weren't able to play like before, but he really watched over me. Everywhere I went, he watched me really closely to make sure I was ok.

Our last day together, we took a short walk out front with Mom and Dad, and then I came in and lay down for the last time. Beau lay close to me most of that day, and even went with me to see Dr. Janet when she helped me get to sleep for the last time. The next morning, Beau even came out and lay on top of the grave my family prepared for me. He's really sad now, but I will keep an eye on him.

I think you have heard enough about me for now, and it's time you see some pictures of Beau and me together. Click here to see the two of us playing, sleeping, and just relaxing. You will also be able to see a video of us playing in the snow.

October 10th update: It had been a little over two months since I moved to heaven, and I could tell that Beau was having a really hard time. Actually he wasn't the only one, my whole family was taking it hard. I'd been trying to find another friend for them, especially Beau. I found the perfect match, but It was a lot of work, because she was a long way from Charlotte North Carolina, but I knew she would fit in well with my family.

Her name is Macey, and she was living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She had two foster homes since she was taken in by the Cape Fear Golden Rescue Club, and really wanted a permanent home and a new best friend. I sent Beau and the family out to meet her today, and it worked out really well. They will bring her home around Thanksgiving, after she recovers from Heart-Worm. It's an awful thing to go through, but her friends at the Cape Fear Golden Retriever Rescue Club are taking really good care of her.

November 13th, 2005 update: Well it's final, Beau finally has a new friend and Macey has her own web page just like the rest of us: Click here to check her out.

Love Sandy