We adopted our darling Miss Mollie (aka. Golda My Ears)  on April 15th, 2007. The joy and the laughter she brought to our lives is indescribable. She and brother Freddie hit it off from the start, snuggling with us, barking and sleeping the days away.

Mollie loved going on her nightly walks and going outside after dark and chasing June bugs. When she saw a rabbit it was almost impossible to hold her back. She also loved Pumpkin Pie and would stand in the kitchen the entire time Momma was baking them. She had the classic Basset Hound bark, not barking in anger but when she was happy to see you. Her tail was always going in circles like a helicopter blade.

Mollie crossed the Rainbow Bridge on June 13th, 2014, where she always feels good and there are no thunderstorms to be afraid of. We miss you so much sweetheart, and we will love you forever.

Momma, Daddy, Sam and Freddie

In January of 2011, we had just lost our 13 year old Dalmation. To find a friend for our other remaining mixed breed dog, we attended a NTBHR event at a strip mall in the mid- cities. We fell in love with a skinny, shy, and trembling Bassett named Carsen, who had been abandoned and had just been treated for heartworms.  We adopted him quicky after a home visit, and promptly changed his name to Buster. He just did not look like a Carsen to us! 

 Buster was the sweetest and quietest hound that we ever saw. He was like a mountain goat jumping to the highest point on couches and chairs to snooze for hours at time. He loved the dog park, car rides, doggie day care, and towards the end a never ending love for chicken jerky strips. Very sadly, we had to take Buster to the Rainbow Bridge due to his two month battle with lymphoma on Saturday May 10th.  Our second rescued Bassett Hound George is sad, as are we, in this time of a sweet rescued hound's absence from our lives.  R.I.P. Buster.

Our sweet Abby went to heaven on Sunday, January 26, 2014 leaving us with holes in our hearts.  I adopted Abby (#655) from NTBHR in September 2005 when she was 6 years old.  I was blessed to have Abby in my life for 8 and ½ years.  Abby was the sweetest basset ever!  When she was brought to our house by her foster parent she sat down at my feet and looked up into my eyes.  When our eyes met we knew that we were meant for each other.  Abby was my soul mate basset.  There has never been and will never be another Abby.  She was that once in a lifetime special dog.  She saw me through the loss of my late husband and recently my mom.  Abby loved to follow us around the house and if one of us were out of sight she would not rest until she knew where we were.  She loved when we would sit with her and pet her, or just sit where she could see us and then she could rest.  Words cannot express how much we miss Abby.  Senior bassets are the best.  They have so much love to give.  Abby gave us so much love and comfort for those 8 and ½ years.  God bless Abby.  And God bless the wonderful folks at NTBHR.  Thank you for rescuing these wonderful bassets and giving them a second chance.

Sandra Hill Flood

 In 2008 we adopted Jabber Jaws, who came to be known in the Mitchell House as J J.  I wanted to let you all know that J J went to the Rainbow Bridge today. He had quite a few health issues, some made worse from his neglect before he came to NTBR.  When he got up this morning he was unable to walk.  Vet said that with his back issues most likely a disc had migrated into his spinal cord.  Emergency surgery was possible, but with his age, and other health issues the most humane thing was the Rainbow Bridge option.

Doc’s Life

• Adopted from North Texas Basset Hound Rescue (NTBHR); we had our eyes on an older female, described as a couch potato; instead NTBHR asked if we’d like to check out a young, LARGE, male red/white basset with lots of energy!  We are so glad they picked him for us!!
• Doc led us to additional rescue work; we have adopted 2 other bassets (Mabel and Marvin); fostered bassets thru NTBHR; we donate monthly to ASPCA; we donate regularly to HOP (House of Puddles; a retirement community for senior bassets); we currently are fostering/adopting a non-basset shepherd mix (Bob) who has so many characteristics of a young Doc and is helping us through our grieving process.
• Doc loved all creatures (we’ve seen him crying over a salamander, a baby bird); he was shy and gentle.  He thought all humans wanted to pet him; he would be nosy wherever we walked and stop to make sure people gave him attention.  One of the funniest sights was Doc at a high school baseball game that was near some livestock.  Doc was interested in one of the longhorns; when it got up (it was HUGE)—Doc started howling so loud that it stopped the game so everyone could look at the excitement.
• Doc allowed us to adopt our second basset hound, Mabel (from our vet, Dr. Morris).  Mabel was unsocialized, had been hit by a car, had to have major orthopedic surgery; we call her our “personality disorder.” Doc was the only dog she ever loved—he let her yell at him, played gently when she wanted.  I don’t know that any other dog would have got along with her like Doc.
• Doc liked to eat!  He could be fast asleep but hear someone opening a slice of cheese (even if trying to sneak it in a different room)!  He was the BEST beggar; never aggressive, would just put his head on your knee to let you know he was interested.  He also could stealthily steal a sandwich out of your hand if you were walking away from him.  He was a “counter-cruiser” and has retrieved a whole pizza, a package of frozen rolls, a pan of baked chicken (including bones), a large box of Greenies, and a dozen cupcakes.  The latter caused acute pancreatitis.  We worked so hard to keep Doc from eating human food but sometime he won!
• Doc loved his walks.  Until the last year (when he was totally blind), Doc walked every day.  He was the pack leader.  We have so many memories.  He taught us so much—such as not taking him on a walk in too hot weather.  Doc went “flat basset”, requiring my husband to carry him almost a mile home.  Through the years, we can’t count the number of cars that drove by him and smiled, beeped their horns, stopped to tell us their basset stories.   
• Doc protected us during a Rottweiler attack; both my husband and I were knocked over; cars were stopping and calling 911; Mabel (our other basset) was hightailing it to safety, but Doc was our hero.
• Doc was popular with our son’s friends (they are now 24, 22).  He watched poker games, went to baseball games- everyone loved Doc!  I took many pictures of Doc and used them for annual presentations at work.  Doc has been a hit on Facebook and even had his own MySpace page back in the day.
• Doc could PLAY!  He loved running (the Basset 500), wrestling, howling (he and Marvin would do this a few times everyday).  An especially fun game to Doc was being chased by an acoustic guitar (by our youngest son)—it wasn’t the same with an electric guitar.
• Doc was everything good in terms of what a dog can be.  He was truly our best friend.  Greeting us every time we returned, no matter how brief, would always put a smile on our faces.  He liked to be massaged; he would always be up for a hug.  He has given us so many laughs, some worries (pancreatitis, got loose a couple times—those are long stories!!), unconditional love, and happy happy memories.  We loved him so much.

The Hightowers