Rosie Mae O’Dogalld
Yesterday a precious Basset went to Rainbow Bridge: "Rosie" Mae O'Dogalld - born May 14, 1996 - died February 17, 2010. Rosie attended many Shuffles, and was once the Bassett in the pink wagon with the pink tiara and feather boa at the Shuffle. There use to be pictures of her at that year's shuffle on this site. Her spirit showed through until the last minute. She could no longer see or hear, but would still wag that tail and bark her "happy bark". It got where she could no longer walk a few days ago, but of course she tried. So we took her for an ice cream (she was allowed chocolate on top this time) on the way to the vets office. She went to sleep peacefully on her person's lap. She will be greatly missed. Kaye Toellner-Martin

Ruthie #1373
Almost 5 years ago, a beautiful little tri-color basset hound girl made her way to my front door with the help of her foster mom, NTBHR volunteer foster Jeannie Oppenlander Burkett. This was Ruthie who came to my house that day looking for her forever home. She had been sent to two other homes, but Ruthie made it clear she was not happy at either and expressed her displeasure by howling and barking at the front doors. Only 3 months before Ruthie came to my door, my Ellie Mae had gone to the Bridge. Because I believe God performs miracles, I'm sure that through Ellie Mae, God sent Ruthie to my house that day. The rest is history. My basset hound, Blossom and Blueman, my Sussex Spaniel and I adopted Ruthie into our family, and she didn't howl and bark at the front door asking to leave. She made herself a permanent place in our family, and she became part of us. Ruthie was a puppy mill mama, having been rescued by North Texas Basset Hound Rescue at the age of 8 and 5 months before she found us. My goal was to give Ruthie the very best life possible, and for the most part she experienced that. She was a fighter having endured major spinal surgery less than a year after she came to us. She recovered as quickly as she could, but some of the damage in her spine could not be repaired. Over the past several months, she had begun to lose her ability to use her left back leg, but she continued pushing on. Other health issues cropped up as well, but Ruthie continued fighting. On May 2, 2020 the road for Ruthie became too difficult for her to bear, and I made that heart-breaking decision to let her go. Ruthie was special in so many ways to me and to her foster mom, Jeannie Oppenlander Burkett. We will always love and miss her, but she will be in our hearts forever.