This page is dedicated to the memory of Annabelle, my trusted friend and companion for over eight years, who was laid to rest on October 22, 1999.

Annabelle was born on August 3, 1991. After losing a pet that I had inherited with the house that I owned at the time, I decided that I would like to get another dog, and had my heart set on a Basset Hound.  I responded to an ad in the local paper in early October.  She was the only puppy left in the litter, and I immediately was taken by her, as she was me, so we agreed that she would come to live with me.

The neighbors found that she was a great source of joy for their children, and would often bring their kids to the fence where they could pet her. 

In 1993, after buying a new lot, I sold the house on Toddsbury and rented a house in Spring Mill.  This was Annabelle's first experience outside of a fenced yard, and she wasted no time in introducing herself to the neighbors.  We spent the winter of 93-94 in Spring Mill, the year of the infamous Ice Storms, where at one point we were without electricity for 11 days.  

While work on the new house was progressing, Annabelle and I moved back to Lynchburg, into the kingdom of manufactured housing.  Here she also felt obliged to introduce herself to all of the neighbors, as well as routinely making trips with me to the new house to work evenings and on weekends.  

On October 1, 1994 we moved into our new house at Oxford Furnace.  For the next five years we were very happy here, with Annabelle making herself well-known to all of the neighbors as well as the numerous workers that were in the area at different times.

In April  1999 Annabelle became sick and stopped eating.  After about two weeks it was clear that she was digressing and I took her to Dr. Miller at Timberlake Animal Hospital.  She was hospitalized for several days, and after three veterinarians were unable to come to a consensus as to her diagnosis, Dr. Miller suggested that I take her to the Virginia Tech College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg.  After several more days of hospitalization and numerous tests, the doctors concluded that Annabelle had Lymphoma, a form of cancer, that. as later research indicated, that the breed is predisposed to. They explained that while the condition was treatable, the usual life expectancy was 6 months to a year.  Knowing that there was no other option than to pursue every course of action available,  I brought her home and immediately began treatments.  These consisted of me administering the oral chemotherapy drug Cytoxen and the steroid Prednezone as well as the intravenous chemo drug Vinchristine, which was administered regularly at Timberlake Animal Hospital. She responded beautifully and for the next five months she provided me with the opportunity to realize anew how much her companionship meant to me.

Below if the note that I sent to family and friends when she passed away October 22, 1999

Annabelle passed away yesterday at Virginia Tech Veterinary Hospital.   Her cancer had come out of remission and she had started to go downhill about 3 weeks ago, refusing to eat and becoming lame on her right back leg.  I took her up to Tech on Wednesday, where they diagnosed that the cancer had spread to her liver and she was experiencing kidney failure.  They tried a very high powered chemo drug on Thursday and she failed to respond, and it made her extremely sick.  On Friday her body started to leak out the fluids that they were giving her intravenously, and the doctors indicated that the odds of successful treatment were very low.  At this point I felt that she had suffered enough, and I returned to Tech on Friday afternoon.  I spent some time with her and stayed with her until the euthanization was complete.  I brought her home and buried her out back.  Annabelle was a great pet and companion, loved my many and will be greatly missed.....

Special thanks to Dr. Miller and all of the staff at Timberlake Animal Hospital for their exceptional care and understanding during Annabelle's illness, as well as the gift made to the Veterinary Memorial Fund in Annabelle's name. 

Also a special thanks to Claudia Walter, Dr. S. Dru Forrester and Patti Coles at the Virginia Tech College of Veterinary Medicine for your excellent treatment and genuine compassion during our visits to the hospital. 

Copyright © 1999 JohnBoy Software Inc.