The Rainbow Bridge

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the loss of our sweet Maggie on September 4, 2015. We adopted Maggie and her brother, Max in April 2013. They were two peas in a pod, one never far from the other. Maggie loved laying in the sunshine, bones and toys (taking every opportunity to “borrow” them from her brother), and fiercely protected the house and yard from rogue bunnies, mailmen, and dangerous neighborhood children. Her tail spun in circles and wagged constantly whenever someone she loved would walk into the room. She was so smart and brave. I will forever miss her soft doggie kisses when I come home from work; the joy I would feel in watching her leap through snow drifts and sprint through the backyard into my arms; the look my husband and I would exchange at seeing her little head peeking out the window…the thousands of little things you know about your dog that no one else knows. The silly names you call her, the snuggles on the couch. Life isn’t fair, Maggie Moo, that you were so young and we had so little time. I take small comfort in knowing we loved you more than anything and that we will continue to spoil your brother for all the days we are lucky enough to have him.

Jennifer Cordes and Michael Haag

With heavy hearts, Samson said, “It was his time to be free.” He is now free of pain and full of love. We will surely miss this dear old boy with ears down to the ground, drool flowing freely from his mouth, the cute way he did his grandpa shake, and most of all the smile on his face, and who could forget the howl with excitement. I hope he felt as much love as we felt. We were honored to have met Samson and we are honored to be the ones to have had him in the end. 6/26/15 – 7/3/15

Heidy Daniel

It is with sadness in my heart that on June 10, 2017, my beloved Bridgett passed over the Rainbow Bridge. Thank you to Lisa Packer for guiding me towards her and on 3/17/13 who knew that I would take a 3-hour ride one way to pick up a Senior girl. Thank you to Sue Crane for being her foster mom. I believe she was one of the “Hattiesburg Seven” and would now be the one and only Sussex NJ girl. For the next 3 years, she filled the empty nest with so much love and laughs and made the best snuggle buddy for the grandchildren. In the last year, she battled many health issues and never ever lost her loving personality with anyone, she must have really had that heart of Gold. As I continue on back to the Empty nest I would like to thank everyone at Tri-State Basset for all you do for these dogs.

My beloved Hannah Banana crossed the rainbow bridge at 8:40 a.m. on July 20, 2017. She was my first little girl, my fur baby. We loved you Hannah and had a wonderful 12 years together. Until we meet again girl ❤
Noreen Matias
Hackettstown, NJ

Sally came to us from her Foster Parents thru Adoption from TSBHR several years ago. We knew very little about her past other than she was taken from a shelter by her Foster Dad. From the very beginning it was obvious that she knew how to conserve her energy as on her very 1st walk she laid down whenever we stopped walking for a few minutes.

This was a trait that served her well as she struggled with Congestive Heart Failure over the past 18 months. She was a loving companion, an easy keeper, and very good with our other dogs unless they attempted to share her food.

She never seemed overly concerned about following the other dogs on their walks but in fact, she would head off to some unknown destination, given a free leash. A year ago we took her to our camp in Maine for a week’s vacation as we were concerned about her heart condition. This was a good decision as we got to spend some time with her alone. She slept in our bed and shared her life with us alone for one short week.

We often observed her body movements when she was sleeping, sometimes the tip of her tail would wag, if only we could share those Dreams, what would they reveal? The last several months have been gut-wrenching, we would wake up in the night to see if her chest was rising and falling. The same observations are repeated numerous times each day. Her daily decline was obvious and every manner of caretaking is practiced. While in our hearts we know what is coming, we grasp at that faint hope that a miraculous cure will happen. At age 16 years of age with a heart that beat with waning strength. The unbearable hurt that wracks our bodies and souls as well as hers lead to the inevitable conclusion.

We will most likely try to fill the void by adopting another old basset knowing full well that history will repeat itself as it has far too many times over the past years. Sally is now with a host of our other pets at the Rainbow Bridge. We will be joining Sally in the lands of our Creator when our time on earth has been served. I sincerely hope that Sally will also have past caretakers that will share their love for her. Run Free Sweet Girl – We will miss you dearly.

Kate and Chuck

Chester came to us some three years ago from his Foster Mom and Dad in PA. A series of rides from PA facilitated by TSBHR carried Sally ( our most recently lost Basset ) and Chester to our Farm.

Chester was “An Old Soul “. Many dogs will not make eye contact with anyone- Chester – Would look you right in the eye. He was also good Listener.

Chester left us for the Rainbow Bridge in October 2015.

You could sum up Chester’s Approach to life with one simple Phrase – When the hurt from walking becomes too much to bare, try running. He pushed on with all his might, in spite of a Senior Life filled with long odds. When the going gets tough, call out Chester’s name.

With his passing goes another time of tears. Chester graced our home for only 18 Months. He was everything that Caretakers would dream of.

How deeply we miss him.

Kate and Chuck

On Tuesday, August 1, 2017, I lost the love of my life. We didn’t have him for quite two years when a catastrophic heart event took him from me in 5 minutes. He was always happy, loving, and eating. As long as he was by my side he was content. He would just look at food and drool goobers! He came to us with his girlfriend Libby. He would walk around kissing her continuously and she him. He will be terribly missed by all! Rest In Peace my best friend! You will never be forgotten.

Of course, everyone loves their dog, but some of us have been fortunate to have found that heart dog or soul dog, the best dog in the world dog, that one you can’t live without, the one that means everything to you, that one who is just so special that it hurts. Boston bounced around foster homes when he was surrendered to Tri-State in 2013. He just never quite found a good fit and when I first took him home Ric and I thought to ourselves when is Lisa getting this dog adopted- he’s a huge pain in the ass! Less than a week later we were head over heels in love and he was my first TSBHR foster failure. Of course, he was a biter with select people…. he once bit a bus driver from Florida who had stopped to admire his beauty, and then there was that time when he chased Alex’s girlfriend into the corner of the house….he knew who he liked and who he didn’t. He was high maintenance, had major medical issues, stopped breathing and turned blue when you cut his nails, was extremely demanding, indecisive, and needed to have choices with his sleeping spots and beds, he was a drama queen! He cleaned every dog and cat’s eyeballs and butts and then always wanted to kiss us afterward. He was my alarm clock every day for the last 4 years, if Boston wasn’t sleeping then no one was sleeping. I like dogs with big personalities and Boston’s was the biggest. Someone else’s trash was my most prized possession. This one took a piece of us with him when he died and has left a huge void in his absence…..Till we meet again my very best dog Boston Brooks.

On Thursday evening, November 9th, I made the painful decision to say my final goodbye to my best friend Tyrone. It’s a profound loss.
When I first saw Tyrone on the Tristate Basset Rescue website back in 2006, you described him as having a “joyful spirit.” And there wasn’t a day he didn’t live up to that billing.
He’d been found wandering the streets of Philadelphia. You were calling him Stanley. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a new dog, having just lost my first Basset, Luther only three months earlier. But “Stanley” needed a Daddy and a new name. And when I walked up to him, he jumped up on me and said “I’m coming home with you whether you like it or not.”
At first, I referred to him as my “rebound Basset.” In some ways, he was living in Luther’s shadow. But over time, we found our own thing. Tyrone had a passion for jazz, classic rock, Chicago Bulls basketball, carrots watermelon, cantaloupe, potatoes, and playing indoor fetch. He was a people dog, who would shamelessly roll over on his back and ask for a tummy rub from anyone who came to my apartment or sat nearby in the park. He was there for me through job changes, break-ups, and the passing of my mom.
As T got older and developed arthritis, his joyful spirit remained intact. In fact, he got even more loveable. And this past summer, when we started getting him around the city in his wagon, he became a neighborhood icon adored by strangers on the streets of New York.
But despite his relentless spirit, his body was giving out. And last week, the doctors advised that it was time. I did my best to give him the send-off he deserved. He was in his bed resting on his favorite pillow with his favorite toys by his side and eucalyptus candles burning. He enjoyed some hamburger and potatoes, gave me one last smile, and then went to sleep with my arms around him as we watched a video montage celebrating his life and all those who loved him.
He was truly a First Ballot Hall of Fame Dog.

To watch the video tribute of his life, go to Tyrone The Basset Tribute

Steve Doppelt
New York, NY

EmmyLou came to our farm several years ago at the age of twelve or thirteen. I vividly remember our first meeting. She was transported from New Jersey to Boston, where she spent Thanksgiving, then to meet us at a Rest Area off of I-95. She seemed reluctant to come with us.

There was a hint of Past Dark times in her life. But as is usually the case we were left to speculate and draw our own conclusions.

She had a bright and outgoing side at times, especially when she was on a walk with her pack. She had to always be in the lead, and when she tired, she would just stop, turn around and bark for everyone to follow her home.

We were told by one of the Specialized Vets that we brought her to that she could only live a maximum of 6 months. She proved them wrong… she lived well over another year.

Ironically, in an effort to make her more comfortable, what should have been a simple procedure ended up with most likely a medication reaction, leading to her gut wrenching demise.

We will miss Miss Emmy and her spunk.