Jerry the Beagle
By - Deborah and Tamara Butler

    Well, it looked like Jerry the Beagle finally found his forever home. He was so excited and couldn't wait to go with his new family. Sadly, two weeks later, Jerry was brought back to the shelter because, of all reasons, he needed his new family too much! You see, Jerry suffers from separation anxiety and can't bear to be left alone all day while his family is off to work or school. He was so full of love for his humans that he wanted to be with them all the time. With no real prospects for a new home in the town where the shelter was located, Bernard's Beagle Rescue in Western NY was asked to help find the right people for a two year old handsome beagle boy who had tons of love and life in him but who would also understand his separation anxiety problem.

When Jerry arrived after a caravan of drivers brought him over 500 miles, he was relieved to finally get there. He took to his "foster family" right away as well as his new playmates, four little beagles who he would get to hang out with until he had a new home.

Days and then even a couple of weeks went by, but no home for Jerry was found. He watched as two other foster beagle puppies that arrived after him went to their new homes, but nobody asked about him. Jerry was beginning to lose hope that he would ever find the right humans. He began to wonder what was wrong with him other than his wanting so much love and attention. Just when Jerry stopped believing it would ever happen, Deb from Bernard's Beagle Rescue received an e-mail message from a lady about two hours away who was looking for a companion dog for her female beagle. She said she fell in love with Jerry's picture, which was posted on the Internet. Deb made the arrangements for them to meet and see if they were right for each other. Jerry was so excited but didn't want to wish too hard that he would be adopted just in case the lady didn't wanted him after all. But that was not the case. Not only did she want him but also she would be home most of the time so Jerry wouldn't have to be alone. And he would have another beagle for company, too. Finally, someone wanted him, separation anxiety and all!

Jerry's story is very much like so many beagles and other dogs out there that will be euthanized unless people step in and look for homes for them. Bernard's Beagle Rescue does just that. We receive photos and descriptions of unwanted beagles and beagle mixes every day. Many are young and healthy with a full lifetime ahead but only if we can find a family to adopt them. Oftentimes, we are up against tight deadlines placed by the shelters housing the dogs. Also, transportation teams must be arranged for each leg of the trip if the dog is coming from a long distance. If one leg is left unfilled, the whole transport may fail! Once the beagle arrives in southwestern New York State, he or she is checked to make sure vaccines are up to date and wormed. Then comes the job of placing ads in local newspapers, monitoring the Internet message boards, and making contacts wherever possible until the right home is found. We screen people carefully because we want this to be a forever home for the dog. Living in an animal shelter and traveling hundreds of miles is stressful enough for these little guys, and we want to make sure they will be loved and cared for by people who know what it takes and are willing to do it. Beagles are the most wonderful dogs, but a potential adopter has to know that they require lots of time and affection, which they will reciprocate 100%. We make sure that if people have not had a beagle before in their lives that they are prepared to make the commitment for life. When a dog is successfully placed like Jerry the beagle, that is all the reward needed and makes all the time spent setting up transports, making phone calls, and surfing the Internet worthwhile. Of course, there are far too many stories that don't end up well as Jerry's. Too many beagles never get adopted with their lives being cut short right in their prime. When the work becomes overwhelmed with sadness for all the dogs who never find humans who want them, we try to remember Jerry and others like him who are well loved and taken care of because of the efforts of tireless dog rescuers and it gives you the strength to carry on the work.