ABOUT BEAU
It seems like only yesterday (and not more than 10 years ago) I was driving down to Coolangatta airport to pick up Beau who was born in New South Wales. I can still see so clearly the dog crate on top of the Air Cargo vehicle making its way across the tarmac to the office where I was waiting. When Beau’s crate was brought into the office, Beau had his back to me. I went over to him and looked down and I said ‘Hello Beau’. Beau looked up at me and a very special connection was formed between us from that very first moment. His tail did not stop wagging.
It was as if Beau knew he was meant to be with me.
The dog crate was secured by a stainless steel horse clip which had a red, green and blue tartan tag. The Air Cargo man had to break the clip to open the dog crate. Beau could not wait to get out of the crate and be with me. The 2 Air Cargo men could not believe that this was the first time that Beau and I had met.
They said it was as if Beau and I had been together all our lives.
I still have this broken horse clip with the tartan tag. It is sitting on a prayer table with photos of Beau and Jessie and a white candle which I light every night to keep Beau safe and to bring him safely back home to us.
Because Beau had been travelling for several hours, by road and air, I decided to walk him around the airport terminal before driving home. We had a wonderful time together. Beau took everything in his stride.. the sound of airplanes, cars and trucks driving past, people rushing by. He loved me so much and trusted me unquestioningly from that very first moment.
Wherever we went people used to stop and look at us and smile. Beau had a special presence about him and he always loved me so very much.
When we arrived home Jessie and Benmore greeted us and they instantly loved Beau, especially Jessie. Our English Setter, Bandit had died on 14 December 2000. During the course of Bandit’s illness Jessie lost 6kg in weight and when Bandit died, Benmore virtually lost his eye sight.
Dogs grieve too !!
Jessie always slept on the bed with me. She was completely devoted to me and needed to be physically close to me all the time. I always ended up sleeping on the edge of the bed with Jessie 'glued' beside me.
The truth is that I needed Jessie even more than she needed me. Jessie was my rock when everything else was falling down around me. She was my ‘Miss Princess’.
Benmore slept on an x-large doggie bed covered with a sheepskin rug beside my bed. He used to sleep on my bed but I worried he might fall off when he reached 16 years of age with his poor eyesight. I could lower my hand and touch him beside me and he knew where I was.
Beau decided his place was to sleep with his head on the pillow beside me.
Beau loved my mare Sparkie. He used to follow her everywhere. Sparkie loved Beau just as much. Her 'soul mate' Misty Blue had died tragically not long before Beau came to live with us. For some reason little Beau lifted Sparkie's spirits so much, as he lifted mine. Normally Sparkie was not interested in dogs. In fact she hated dogs but as you can see from this photo, Sparkie and Beau were comfortable and happy being close to each other.
Muscles, the dog next door, spent more time with us than with his own family. Beau used to love his daily walks with Jessie and Muscles. Beau was fascinated with the tiny quail hiding in the bush by the side of the track and the bush pheasants, rabbits and wallabies we would see on our walks through the environmental park.
Beau invented the phrase ‘in your face’. He had to be involved in everything I did and he could not get enough attention or love from me. Beau was very naughty but no matter what he did, he had such a way about him, all I could do was laugh.
I look at everything Beau has chewed and to this day, more than 8 years later I still miss him very much.
I enrolled Beau in puppy kindy and then dog obedience classes. He was very intelligent and learned quickly but his attention span was short and he was not tempted by food rewards. I enrolled Jessie as well even though she was a very good girl and 10 years old because I did not want her to feel 'left out'. Jessie enjoyed it much more than Beau. Benmore was too old to go back to dog obedience classes and he never did what he was told anyway.
Beau was so happy chasing seagulls along the beach, going for his daily walks with Jessie and Muscles, and he loved his home here with all his family. When our Arabian horse, Khomet arrived on 29 March 2002, Beau became very close to Khomet too.
Life was so much fun and so exciting for Beau.
In March 2003 when Beau was 2 years old I took him to a dog show to see whether or not he liked it. I had tried showing Beau a couple of times when he was younger but he made it very clear to me that he did not enjoy it. I was advised by the 'experts' that I had no chance of showing Beau successfully because he was too old and I was a new handler with limited knowledge of grooming. Despite this, Beau did exceptionally well. He had an outstanding movement. I believe Beau would have run along beside me in a show ring without a lead. He won his ribbons on his own merit. In only a handful of shows Beau was well on his way to winning his Australian Championship title.
I regret very much I took up this 'hobby' because this may be the reason why Beau was stolen. This was the only change in our routine before Beau was stolen on 1 July 2003.
I follow a little ritual which my parents used to do with me. Every night I kiss my dogs and horses and tell them that I love them very much and I’ll see them in the morning. I tell my horses to be very careful during the night. In the morning I kiss them all and tell them how much I love them and I am so thankful they are safe. Whenever I have to leave them, I kiss them all and tell them to be very careful until I get back home. The first thing I do when I arrive home is to kiss them all and tell them how much I love them, and again, I am so thankful they are safe.
This all changed for Beau on 1 July 2003.
Can you imagine how Beau has suffered .. his trauma, his grief, his fear, his confusion, his insecurity from being forcibly taken away from his mum, his family and his home where he was so very happy and so very loved ?? What had he done wrong ?? Where was his mum ?? Why didn't she come to him and bring him back home ??
I wondered how I was going to survive 24 hours without finding Beau. Beau is now 11 years old. My young boy has become a mature-aged man. Our life together has been taken away. It is unfair that humans are allowed to steal beloved animal children. I have not yet given up hope of finding Beau. We deserve to be together again before he dies.
"The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this Earth can ever be." ~ Konrad Lorenz.
