Bandhu (formerly known as Olaf)
Bandhu, a friend, a connection, the one who looked after me while all along I thought I was the one looking after him. He was the perfect combination of sweetness and gentleness and courage and bravery. With him I experienced wholesome and dynamic growth, a lesson of endurance and flexibility. He came to me in 2014 as the most fearful dog I had ever met. Slowly he warmed up to me and others, and every day with him brought me more awareness and gratitude. He lived for almost 11 years, but his personality was still blossoming, always so eager to belong and to show his appreciation for the life he got to live. He was chosen to be Garnatxa's dog, but first she became his dog (to show him the lay of the land) and later he became Cora's dog. The same way Bandhu used to follow Garnatxa everywhere (even sharing the same bed sometimes), he became attached to Cora and didn't leave her alone, always curious and generous with her, her playmates, and all the dog contraptions she created for him. His huge paws, his ballerina feet, his exceptionally long body, his smile with dimples... That would have been enough to make anyone fall in love with him, but there was much more: the way he looked at us with growing trust; the intelligence with which he learned all the tricks, names and words dispensing with any training, just by copying Garnatxa and by listening to human conversation; the ecstasy he felt by scrubbing his body against us, the sofa, the bushes and the base of his favorite palm tree in the backyard; the blissful growling he uttered every single time he lied down; the space he occupied in the whole house; the space he occupied in my life, holding the fort during the most difficult years I have ever lived. Over time, it was easy to forget about that fearful behavior from 2014 and all I could see was a Presence Master, soaking it all in or "watching his Netflix" - as Cora used to call his walks. Bandhu taught me to be present until the end and beyond. Our last days together were of pure love and connection - telepathy even. He showed me that love can be easy and uncomplicated. Now it's time for someone else to be the dog and keep going with the Presence. And I will gladly accept the role, even if these are some big shoes to fill. Or should I say paws? Bandhu beat the odds by surviving lymphoma treatments for three years, with strength and admirable quality of life, until it was finally time for his body to rest last January 25th. My two furry babies are together now and must be barking, howling, running and dancing in circles, giving a stellar performance, just the way they used to do at sunset time in the backyard or in the snow.--Izabel M, 09Feb2024

Barney Dec 2014
Barney came into our lives in November 2014, when someone found him running loose with no tags in the town of Linden, and dropped him off with Black and Tan Coonhound Rescue. From there, he found his way to GGBR. Through Barney’s microchip, we were able to contact his original owner, who said he had purchased Barney as a puppy in 2005, but had rehomed him years ago. After 30 days, when no one came forward to claim Barney, he became our foster dog and was made available for adoption. Barney was happy, friendly, good with our cats and, for the most part, good with other dogs. He was happiest, though, when our other dogs were away and he didn’t have to contend with canine housemates encroaching on his space. For that reason, we had hoped to find him a home, where he could be an only dog. Sadly, in April 2015, Barney was diagnosed with lymphoma, which changed his status from “adoptable” to “hospice”. In May, shortly after his cancer diagnosis, Barney attended Spring Fling. I think Barney had more fun there than anyone! It was so wonderful to see him thoroughly enjoying the crowd of people and dogs! Barney lived out his remaining months feeling okay and eating well, but gradually becoming weaker. Last week, his appetite and strength were gone. Barney had so many fans. We don’t know how many homes Barney had in his 10 years, but we were happy to have provided his last home. Rest in peace, little buddy.—Fran and Mark Madden, Billy and Bob. August 2015.

Bella
We adopted our Bella (aka Daisy) in August of 2011 from Golden Gate Basset Rescue. We did not know much about Basset Hounds, as our last dog, Louie, was a Beagle. We did know that we loved the hound dogs. Within days we were in love with Bella (pronounced Bay-yuh) and the breed. Bella was the love of our lives and brought joy to us every day. No way could you be down or sad with Bella in your life. She gave us as much love as we gave her and then some. She had the perfect amount of goofiness, sweetness, and attitude. In January of 2021, Bella was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. By early April she was struggling again, so we added another medicine. On April 11, 2021 Bella's heart stopped. She passed away in her mom's arms on the way to the emergency vet, surrounded by her family petting her and telling her how much we love her. She took a huge piece of our hearts with her that day. On the way home from the vet, we saw a tiny rainbow in the sky; Bella was telling us she was happy and on her way over the rainbow bridge. We miss our baby girl every day and are so blessed to have had her in our lives for the past 10 years. She was special! Look for a picture of our beautiful Bella in the 2021 Golden Gate Basset Rescue calendar on September 6th! We wish more than anything that she could have made it to her calendar day, but we're grateful to have had her for as long as we did. Thank you to Golden Gate Basset Rescue for saving her life over 10 years ago and bringing her into ours. We will love and miss her forever. Until we meet again over the rainbow bridge!

Betsy

We adopted Betsy at the end of 2011. My new husband and I had recently moved to Monterey for work. I've always loved hounds, but I also believe in adoption. I saw Betsy (then called Bessie) and fell in love. A few weeks later, I drove to Sacramento and picked her up. We were all in love immediately. Betsy was the sweetest, most well-behaved, wonderful animal I have ever kept. And she was the most beautiful basset hound I have ever seen. She loved sleeping in the sun, cuddling, hiking on the trail, or running at the beach, and chicken. We had a wonderful, if eventful, life together, and we tried to provide her with the absolute best care in our ability. She had a good, long, happy life in some of the most beautiful places in the world. Unfortunately, we had to move a lot, and Betsy came with us everywhere we went. After two amazing years on the beaches and mountains of Central California and summer trips to Colorado, she traveled up to the Olympic Peninsula before moving across the Pacific to Oahu. We spent a year on the beaches and mountains of the island, and welcomed our first baby. Betsy was always so gentle and patient with everyone, including our infants and toddlers. In 2015, we had to move back to the mainland to Florida. There, she loved living in a big multigenerational house with a backyard where she could lay in the sun to her heart's content. She had lots of attention and neighborhood walks. In 2016, we moved to my husband's home country, Monaco. Betsy came along, but unfortunately, she was miserable in Monaco. At that point, I made an extremely hard decision for Betsy's welfare that broke my heart, even though it was the best thing for her. After a couple of years, we moved Betsy back to my parents' big house in Florida. She already knew it well, and everyone loved her there. My sister's basset had died earlier that year, and she agreed to care for Betsy. Through another twist of events, my sister has remained living with my mom since then. So, for the last six years, Betsy has had the most comfortable, stable life in her advanced age. My mom and sister have taken care of her devotedly. Betsy has enjoyed her big yard with lots of sunshine, living with two adults who work from home and spending her days wandering in and out as much as she likes. She eventually developed glaucoma, rapidly losing her first eye 3 to 4 years ago. They tried to save her second eye with surgery and medications, but eventually, it also failed. She had been completely blind for the last two years or more and almost deaf for a year or so at least. But she still enjoyed her life and continued to take walks around the neighborhood with her unfailing sense of smell. Our whole family loved her, and she will be sadly missed by us all when we visit Grandma again. She lived a good, long life full of love, and I appreciate the opportunity to have Betsy in my life.

Billy
Back in August 2010, Billy was only supposed to be a quick pickup and drop off. He was probably about 7 years old then, and was surrendered by his owner to the Stockton shelter. I was supposed to pick him up from the shelter, keep him over the weekend, and then deliver him to his foster home on Sunday. Well, Billy charmed us from the get-go. He immediately got along perfectly with our older bassets, Jackie and Kirby, and our cats. By the end of the weekend, we knew that Billy was ours. Yes, Billy was noisy. He also loved to get up on the highest perch he could find. It could be the kitchen table, (if we neglected to push our chairs in), or the top of a crate, or even the top of a stucco wall, requiring ascent of a couple of smaller objects to reach his goal. He also loved to run off, laughing at us, who were trying to catch him. It wasn’t that he especially wanted to escape; he just wanted the adventure. We always knew we had to be vigilant about keeping Billy secure. Aside from all that, Billy had the most pleasant and happy personality of any dog, anywhere. He was always good-natured and never grumpy. Billy liked everybody, human, canine, or feline. When Kirby passed away just a few weeks after Billy’s arrival, Billy filled Kirby’s shoes, almost seamlessly. It was as though it had all been planned. When we adopted 10-year-old basset Riley in October 2010, he and Billy instantly became best of buddies. They spent almost four years together as brothers and best friends. Billy was very saddened, when Riley died in 2014, but he welcomed new brother, Bob. Billy was never as close to Bob as he had been to Riley, but he and Bob were good company for each other, as the two of them went through their old age issues together, during the next few years. In his 7 years with us, Billy shared his home with adopted “siblings” Kirby, Jackie, Riley, Bob and Jerry (fka Frank), as well as foster siblings Dora, Daisy, Jerry (2011), Darlene, Isabella, Sam, Roy, Beau, Abby, Cokie, Roxie, Neil, George, Emma Jean, Barney, Mabel, and Kathy. Billy left us at the end of May 2017. Mark’s impression of Billy, on that weekend, back in August 2010, was that Billy was “a keeper”. Billy was that, and so much more. His unique voice could be annoying, but he was never out-of-sorts. He was just a happy guy, loving life--a very lovable and memorable dog. Fran and Mark Madden, Bob and Jerry, May 30, 2017