Captain Caesar SoFeyen

Captain Caesar SoFeyen

1999 to 2015

Caesar was in one word, perfect. The day we said good bye to him was one of the most difficult days of our lives, but our seven year old son was there with us and gave us the perfect moment. He was apprehensive to be near Caesar as we went through process, but before we left we asked him if he wanted to give Caesar a kiss and he said yes. He bent down, game him a gentle kiss and said, “I’ll see you in heaven.”

If there was any doubt that I had that the rainbow bridge was real, that doubt faded away forever in that moment and I know I will see Caesar again.

We had Caesar eight years before we had our first child and almost fourteen years before we had our second. Immediately Caesar became to them what he was for us, a rock. Even in the hours before the end; he was offering himself for kisses, hair-pulling and over aggressive snuggles. He was there to offer love, support and collect the tears from his mom and dad until his very last second on this earth.

Caesar loved food, running without purpose and running the agility course. He especially had a sparkle in his eye when he could combine all three, although running without purpose was counter productive to earning awards. However, we have an enormous ribbon collection and multiple certificates; including one certificate for him as the #2 beagle in open agility in 2003. He ran with enough purpose to keep us going until he was almost eight, but even after retirement to support his younger (13 year old) beagle brother / nephew with a bad back he found new joys in life. He still loved food and running without purpose through the dog park the best.

Another thing he might have loved just a bit too is when one of us got sick. He always knew we were not feeling well and he could never snuggle close enough to us. It definitely was a great remedy.

Caesar was diagnosed with kidney failure in October 2014, we never really knew what to expect as it hits every pet a little differently. We were tipped off in October when he was a bit reluctant to eat and he seemed to be losing weight. His illness progressed quickly and he had lost a lot of weight and we he seemed to be giving in just before Thanksgiving.

We had made arrangements to say good-bye to him the day after Thanksgiving, but something on the 6-hour ride back to family gave him an extra burst and we decided not to go forward with it. He enjoyed a turkey dinner like he had on every Thanksgiving of his life. He made it to his fifteenth birthday on December 13 and his McDonald’s french fries that he got once a year, every year on that day. He made it to Christmas and got to enjoy a bit of Christmas Turkey and Ham.

The week after Christmas he started to decline again and was not really eating. If you knew him and looked into his eyes you didn’t see a 15-year old puppy anymore, you saw a dog that had fought the good fight. He had a bowl of popcorn dropped in front of him and showed no interest, on one more trip to McDonald’s he ate a couple of french fries and then did all he could to lick just a couple more. It was time.

It was time to say good-bye until we meet again.