On August 26, 2015, my mom and dad rescued my second puppy brother from the Esther Boyd Animal Shelter in Winchester, Virginia. It was only two days after my brother left for college. My mom jokes that she didn’t make it very long being an empty nester.

I remember my mom texting me from the shelter telling me that she had found the dog that she wanted to adopt, but she had to change his name because his name was Buck, which was the name of my childhood dog who passed away less than a year before then. We saw it as a sign from Buck that Beau was a good choice for our family. So, she landed on Beauregard or Beau, for short, and she paid the $30 fee to bring home the second hound in our family, a redbone coonhound.

He was an owner surrender, meaning his owners dropped him off at the shelter, and we didn’t know much else about him. He had only been at the shelter for a week or so when my mom rescued him.

Our dog, Honey Bee, had only been with us a little over two months and was already proving herself to be a bossy boss lady, so when the two met they were both leashed up. I don’t remember much from their first meeting because they literally barked at each other for 30 minutes straight. No stopping, no hesitating.  But, don’t worry they became fast friends and have been best buddies ever since. Beau even gets sad when Honey hasn’t come to visit in awhile.

At first Beau was super playful and liked to grab your hand in his mouth and chew on it. He has and always will be the loudest dog in the world. We joke that he hurts his own ears when he barks.

He is gluten free, like my mom, but loves dairy products and vegetables very much, also like my mom. He has run away several times in the rain, heat and snow to my mom’s dismay. Logan remembers one time that we were searching for him all around our neighborhood and he ended up finding him in our driveway. What a turd.

He will not get up in the morning until he is pet sufficiently and he tends to roll on to his back and show you his shark teeth when he wants more attention.

Beau likes to go on walks and to meet people, especially little kids. I am looking forward to his reaction the most when Logan and I bring our future kids around him. He is the best snuggler around and will not hesitate to sleep between your legs when it is cold outside.

He is a big ole baby though and loves my mom more than anyone else. And we’ve decided, she loves him more than any of the other kids or dogs. Logan is also a big fan of his, calling him the goodest boy.

He met Bear a couple of days after we rescued him and immediately started to ignore him. Bear is so little that we think Beau doesn’t know what to do with him. Nonetheless, they are content with each other and Bear gives him some love every once in awhile.

His nicknames include: Beau Beau, Didley, Beau-Didley, Diddy, Boo Boo (my grandpa’s addition), Didders, Skadidley and Beaurcephus. We have been known to sing Jason Derulo’s “Get Ugly” when Beau is coming towards us. Obviously, we sing the background lyric that repeats “Didley” over and over again.

I could not be happier to have Beau in my life and I look forward to his nose kisses (he doesn’t lick, he puts his wet nose on you) and his smiles (if you know, you know).

Beau’s sixth birthday was August 24 and I know he got to celebrate with a long walk and an even longer nap.