Life with Rosie Basset

 

This isn`t Rosie but its the best likeness I could find on the net, Jim has put all the photos in the loft!

I want to tell you about our Basset Hound Rosie. She was such a huge part of our lives in many ways and we learned so much about ourselves during her lifetime.

For some years I had fancied having a basset as a pet, goodness knows why apart from the fact that I though they were cute. Have you ever made a huge misjudgement in your life? Well I have and Rosie, I`m afraid to say was it though it wasn`t altogether her fault...well perhaps some of it.

We visited several kennels and saw many bitches and dogs, all good pedigree and their puppies much sought after. We went away and decided to read up on the breed to make sure we were doing the right thing. For a year I read extensively until I knew (or thought I did) everything that was there was to know about bassets ie. they are very stubborn, they are good family dogs and great with children despite their mournful expressions and they don`t really suffer from health problems apart from back problems caused by their longer than usual spines and short bandy legs. Oh yes, I thought I knew it all....sigh.

Eventually we collected Rosie in March 1989. Her breeder was well respected lady and was a judge at show, she bred her dogs at her large bungalow and they were all in beautiful condition so we had no cause to worry about her background. She was given a bath before we left and we took her home smelling lovely....something that quickly wore off when her natural hound scent took over. Nobody told us that hounds smell...well `gamey` I suppose and they stay that way, never mind we got used to it after a while.  Rosie decided to say hello to the cats, Hazel loved her and Paddie hated her with a vengence...something that never changed, they spent their lives in conflict with Rosie always losing their manybattles with vicious scratches to prove it but it didn`t stop her trying to make friends...daft dog.

At the time Kerry was about fourteen and Danny eleven and they just adored Rosie. The same Rosie who howled when she was left at home alone, who stole their dinner from their plates and sweets and chewing gum from their pockets. On one occasion she swallowed one of Kerry`s gloves with no ill effects, that dog was a terrible thief and needed watching all the time.

We never:

Left food where she could reach it.

Left doors open just in case she sneaked in and stole something.

Gave her toys, she ate them all.

Bought her a dog bed, she ate the first one.

Allowed her upstairs, she couldn`t get down unaided and she was too heavy to carry.

We always:

Cleaned her ears regularly or they smelled terrible and they got infected.

Bathed her often to try to keep the `gamey` smell at bay.

Opened the windows in the morning whatever the weather for the same reason as above.

Visited the vet regularly for her many operations and to treat her innumerable ailments

Which were:

Contact dermatitis which had to be treated twice daily for her entire life.

Hysterectomy at 13months because of womb infection.

Repeated bouts of cystitus caused by crystals in bladder: I evenended up with my own testing kit so I knew when to get antibiotics.

Operations to treat crystals in bladder ~ failed twice

Extensive dental work and teeth removal (at least five times)

Grass seed removed from foot (twice)

Frequent bouts of colitis, cause not known.

Eye infections.

Anal glands removed, apparently uncommon in large dogs (they are labradors with short legs said one vet)   No they are not!

There were more but I can`t remember the rest!

There were many occasions when Rosie found the scent of a deer and she was gone, calling her was a waste of time because she became deaf once on the trail. The problem was she was rubbish at following the scent and always became hopelessly lost. Many was the time when we heard her howling in the woods but it always took hours to find her. On one occasion we had half a dozen park rangers with walkie talkies helping us find her. Eventually it became to risky to let her off the lead but at least we didn`t have to spend an afternoon tramping through the undergrowth looking for our elusive basset.

By the time Rosie was ten she started to slow down and it was obvious that her back was giving her pain from time to time. One day she fell into a ditch (don`t ask) and became quite poorly for a while, though did I mention that she was also a terrible hyperchondriac and knew how to use her ailments to her best advantage. She become like one of those ladies from the past who took to their chais lounges with `the vapours`. Anyway, Rosie was an expert in that field and with that mournful basset expression it certainly worked for her. By this time we had Hannah who was about at the time. They were great friends but Rosie was the boss through and through. Hannah being the sweetie that she was never crossed her and always did as Rosie said.

The years passed and by the time Rosie was almost thirteen we knew that she didn`t have much longer with us. She hadn`t been for a walk for six months as her back legs didn`t work well but now she was losing interest in everything, even her friend Hannah who fussed over her constantly and who now seemed lost with The Boss.

We said goodbye to Rosie in the August of  2003, Jim and I were heartbroken as were Kerry and Danny. Rosie was not the easiest dog dog we ever had and she was certainly the last basset hound. But, we loved her despite, or maybe because of her faults (I only scratched the surface here). Oh yes, there was only one Rosie Basset.

 

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