Suzaji’s Blog

We made an appointment to have our oldest dog, Beau, euthanized tomorrow morning, Thursday, February 13. The gentle, sensitive vet, Dr. Curt Lewis, who has helped many of our dogs to pass over, will come to the house. The difficult decision to do this has been in the works for many months.Beau came into our life on a rainy Thanksgiving Day in 1997 or 1998. My best guess is that he was around three to five years old–fully grown– an adult dog. He was found by a rescuer wandering the streets of Los Angeles. When he arrived he looked like a skeleton with a giant head–I had no idea he would fill out into a handsome, well-proportioned dog.At this time in my life I had two other dogs, several cats, chickens, and a potbellied pig named Rosie–so the first “test” was if he would get along with the other creatures.My first memory of Beau is what he did when he saw Rosie. He walked backwards about ten steps—keeping his eye on this strange huge black unknown snorting animal. It was obvious within about five minutes that Beau did not have a mean bone in him.

That first rainy night my then teenage daughter slept beside Beau on a futon by the fireplace. Rosie the pig also slept inside, nearby, on another futon, under a blanket . . . I remember it rained and rained, all night long. . . I’m sure he was grateful to be indoors, out of the wet and cold, his tummy full of Thanksgiving treats . . .

The next day, that first time we took him out in nature around the basin near Pratt trail, the other dogs and humans nimbly clambered up and down the boulders. We could see that Beau was a city dog, not used to jumping from rock to rock. He was afraid of slipping. He moved with great caution as he eyed what we were doing. So we waited for him–we encouraged him–and soon he found his “country legs” and was happily jumping from rock to rock . . . a far cry from the streets of LA!

Since I already had so many animals, I tried to get my youngest sister, who had three young daughters at the time, to adopt him. Beau looked so proud when the girls walked him on a leash. He was the perfect dog for a family with growing children . . . to this day he has never shown any sign of aggression, despite his rocky start in life.

Alas, Beau sheds huge, HUGE clumps of hair–and after a few days my sister returned him. You gotta be willing tolerate a dirty floor to adopt a dog that sheds . . .

These last several years we’ve referred to Beau as our “Elder Statesman.” As time went by and my living circumstances changed, he ended up living with my friend Sholom Joshua. Being a male dog, he bonded strongly with Sholom and his Jack Russel terrier, Trixie . . .

Beau became a mentor and Zen teacher to the high-spirited young Trixie. His ongoing approach to explaining Life to Trixie was to use silence and patience as they shared daily life adventures. Trixie knew she had lucked out having Beau as her mature friend and guide. She would look to Beau at frequent intervals –every twenty seconds or so–during every walk they took. It was obvious that she was checking with Beau to see how her Zen Guide reacted to the world at large.

Beau had this very endearing way of expressing approval –especially when a walk was imminent. He would laugh–a deep satisfied sound would come from his throat.

Beau is the most noble, gentle, easy going dog we’ve ever had—He exudes calm, poise, and wisdom . . .

I write this now, to help us prepare for the hour of transition . . .