By Ralphine Major

I do not remember why we named her Bonnie, but the name seemed to fit.  Someone gave her to us.  I am not sure why they did not want to keep her.  She was a pretty little beagle, and she was always happy.  Our father liked beagles, and our family fell in love with Bonnie.

She fit right in with the various other breeds of dogs we had, both large and small.  Bonnie could not keep up with the bigger dogs.  She had only one pace—slow.  But eventually, she made her way anywhere she wanted to go.  We had a chain-link fence to keep the dogs in the yard.  It was several feet high so the bigger ones could not jump over it.  Bonnie had no problem, she went under it!  When our father went around and stopped up the holes where the dogs could crawl through, none of the others could navigate their way under the fence—except Bonnie!  Though Bonnie was not the smallest dog of the bunch, she could go right under the wire.  Once she cleared the fence, Bonnie would make her little snorting sound and be on her way.

Many times, Bonnie was a companion to one of our sick dogs.  She would stick right with them as if she were their caregiver.  Bonnie brought us so much joy.  I often wonder if those who gave her away realized how much happiness she had to give.  Bonnie gave us a little bit of happiness every day of her life.  Even now, looking at her picture brings a smile to my face—and my heart.