Last week Bogart’s Mom provided us with this sweet little update on Bogart, rescued from a San Diego laboratory.
“This May, it will be five happy years that Bogart has been out of the lab and part our lives. And though we never ever forget where he came from, we sincerely hope that now that he has been a real dog for more years than he was a lab dog, his memories of his time in enslavement have turned to dust.
When Bogart came home with us on a sunny memorial day in 2012, he was a mellow, subdued gentleman. So handsome with his huge chocolate brown puppy dog eyes, exquisitely accented with thick beautiful black eyeliner. He had meaty paws and huge ears and we fell in love fast and hard. He was not quite 4 years old, but had the attitude of a sassy grandpa. Bogart wasn’t a feisty high energy beagles, he was more of a man of leisure. He was a chill little dude who quickly learned there was nothing he wouldnt do for a cookie.
We brought Bogart home to join our family that already included a 9 year old Beagle named Jack. Jack was very much accustomed to being the king of the castle and a total Mommy’s boy. Bogart found comfort in his new home, even if his new older brother wasn’t as keen about his arrival. Bogart quickly and rather easily acclimated to domestic life, using his brother as a role model. And when we lost our sweet Jack a year later, Bogart slipped into Jack’s position as “head of the household” helping to ease our pain and grief.
Two years later, history would repeat itself. When ARME joined the fight to end the dog meat trade in Asia, rescuing a group of dogs from deaths door in China, we decided to add to our small family and include one of the rescued, a 4month old German Shepard named Boots. Found in a slaughterhouse with his feet bound and severely malnourished, Boots survived his assured fate and arrived in the US from China eager to be a real dog.
It was love at first sight for Boots! From a tiny 15 lbs puppy stumbling through our home, to today at 80 lbs and healthy as can be, Boots is always at Bogarts heels, adoring him, idolizing him, worshipping the ground he walks on. And Bogart, well Bogart acts as though he’s “putting up with him”. But in truth, he enjoys the company and we’ve seen a youthful resurgence in Bogart as well as a renewed interest in playing with toys and mastering the art of tug of war. Spoiler alert: Bogart always wins.
Our little guy has come a long way from his days in the lab. We cherish every moment with Bogart and of course Boots. But we’ll never forget where they came from and never stop appreciating and supporting ARME’s Beagle Freedom Project, who swooped in and rescued these dogs from deaths door and blessed us with the greatest joys of our life!”