Sweet Hal <3

It all happened very quickly and perhaps that actually is a blessing versus having a drawn out suffering. We noticed one weekend that he wasn’t quite himself & skipped one of his meals, when it hadn’t resolved by early in the week we made him a same day appointment to see the vet and before the end of the week we learned that Hal had a tumor on his spleen & an enlarged heart and that there was not much to be done other than monitor & keep him comfortable. He was skipping more meals, even with meds to increase his appetite. I birthed Reece on Easter Sunday and upon returning home Monday evening it was apparent that it was time for Hal to cross the rainbow bridge. 

We always knew Hal would leave us first, his health has just never been quite as good as Hank. What I could have never been prepared for though was that it would happen as we welcomed our second son to the family. The conflicting emotions of growing your family with one while losing another has been one of the most difficult things I’ve experienced. I explained at one point that my heart just always hurt those first couple weeks, hurt out of sheer joy at seeing Ro & Reece together and hurt out of complete grief missing Hal. Even now I wonder if it will ever stop feeling bittersweet, as I celebrate Reece turning another month older I’m reminded that it’s also been that long without Hal.

We rescued Hal from a county shelter in April 2015, he was found as a stray that no one claimed. We started browsing online for beagles one day & the next day I shared the link of Hal (named Sherman at the time) to Ron and that evening we brought him home. As a stray Hal definitely showed it more in his personality than Hank ever has, I don’t believe he had the best life before joining our beagle pack, an xray even showed that he had an air rifle pellet in his shoulder. The thought breaks my heart because Hal was always the absolute sweetest! He just wanted to be in the same room as you, play fetch all day long, and get a good belly rub or two or ten 😉 He was the best snuggler and knew how to keep a smile on our faces.

Ro will ask about Hal sometimes and while it hurts to have to continually explain to him I do want to make it normal to talk about with him. Hank also definitely knew when Hal was leaving us and he has missed his beagle brother. Some of the hardest moments for me have been bedtime as Hal literally slept in our bed with us every single night since the first day he came home, so it feels quite empty these days plus he had quite the knack for making himself super comfy in your spot and looked so cute that it was hard to move him.

We had Hal cremated so that he could come home to be with us forever, he was cremated with his collar (we always take the collars off at night and he was SO excited every morning to put his one, he loved it), we also sent a ball & a stuffed squeaky toy so that he’d have his favorites to play with. I found a nice urn with a planter and bought a heart fern to plant in it to match the heart shape on Hal’s head. The vet office made a print of his paw & we added a personalized photo frame too. I don’t know where exactly these pieces will end up but for now they sit out in the main floor of our house so we see them daily as if Hal is still here.

My Sweet Hal <3