Nittany Beagle Rescue - In Memory

In Memory of our Beloved Daisy Mae

Daisy was born on October 13, 2002, part of an "oops" litter from my husband's uncle's hunting beagles. Ringo, the dad, was 12 and Katy, the mom, was 5. We thought Ringo was too old, but he sure showed us! I was the one who noticed Katy was pregnant, but since I had bred springer spaniels, which were larger, I was off on the date due...by 2 weeks! On that cold October morning, my husband Jerry went out to his uncle's kennels and found Katie with 3 newborn pups...Luke, Daisy Mae and Beau (stillborn) for the Dukes of Hazard. We brought Katie and the two pups in the house since it was so cold. Jerry's uncle was too old to hunt the dogs any more at 91, but he sure was happy to see one more beautiful litter from his hunting beagles, who were well known and wanted in the area for their hunting prowess! Jerry's uncle passed a week later. We gave away Sage and Katy to some of Jerry's uncle's friends who wanted to hunt them, and Ringo went to Jerry's cousin to continue to line. At 6 months, Luke went to Jerry's cousin's farm with Ringo, and we kept Daisy, who was the runt of the litter. A beautiful little tri-color 25 lb. beagle as an adult, she quickly claimed a place in our hearts.

Daisy was my first beagle and she quickly cemented a part of my heart for beagles, in addition to springer spaniels and cats. Daisy loved our two cats, Oreo and Obbie, and would wash them continually...and they let her! Daisy's big sister was Maggie, our springer spaniel, and they were best of friends. After 10 years as Daisy's big sister, we lost Maggie unexpectedly at age 15 to a ruptured tumor on her liver. Daisy was very depressed and we were afraid we would lose her. We adopted a springer from MAESSR (Mid-Atlantic English Springer Spaniel Rescue) 4 months after we lost Maggie. Molly was so much like Maggie in personality and she and Daisy bonded immediately. Unfortunately, we lost Molly to cancer 379 days after we adopted her. We were prepared, though, and had given Daisy a blanket with Molly's scent, which she cuddled with for as long as the scent remained. A month-and-a-half later, we adopted Tip from ESRA (English Springer Spaniel Rescue). It was difficult at first, because Tip was not used to other dogs, but 11 year old Daisy won him over through time and he became her protector, and mourned her when she passed.

Daisy was such a sweet dog, playing with toys in her younger days, running around the fenced yard chasing bunnies and bunny scents. Because she would run so fast and make such sharp turns, she injured both her acls (at different times) and had to have surgery. As she entered her twilight years, she had multiple health and mobility issues and Tip was there to protect her and help her through it. He loved his little sister. He would run across the yard to make sure she was ok if she fell over, and wouldn't eat if she wouldn't eat. He worried about her so. We lost her October 31, 2017 to heart problems a few weeks after her 15th birthday. She was my first beagle and such a special little girl. Even after a year, there's still a hole in our hearts. If we could adopt another beagle, we would, but we have a cat that has medical issues, so he travels with us and Tip when we vacation, and most places don't allow for more than two pets. Thank you so much, Nittany Beagle Rescue, for all you do to help these precious beagles. Maybe someday in the future we'll be able to adopt a beagle.

Daisy, we love you and miss you so much. You'll always be in our hearts.

Linda and Jerry Shope