 Queenie and I today. |  This was the day we got Queenie. She was seven weeks old and we had just moved to Iowa a few days before. |
Thursday was my dog Queenie’s birthday. She is now a 16 year old beagle. Before you think that’s old, my father-in-law has a 17-year cocker spaniel. My family had 3 beagles when I was younger. They all passed at the age of 13. I wish I knew the secret to her longevity, but the only things I can think of is that she gets at least a half mile walk every day and is treated like a member of the family. She gets her exercise and is connected to others. We got Queenie the summer we moved to Iowa from a beagle farm in Postville. She had 1 puppy in 1996. We named him Tuffy and kept him. Having a canine companion probably also helps to keep Queenie going strong. She has never been fast so I can’t say if she is slowing down a lot, but all the gray on her face gives away her age. I carry her downstairs every morning for our walk, but that is more of a matter of me not wanting to wait for her to sloooowly climb down the stairs.
|  Tuffy was born on May 1st, 1996. This picture was taken when he was 5 weeks old. |
Aside from hurting her back a couple of times and having a cyst removed from her tail many years ago, Queenie has had good health. She lost a piece of her ear when she was kenneled at the Animal Rescue League in 2001. No one would tell me what happened. I’m very lucky to have a dog that can cheer me up just by looking at her. I’m not sure how many days Queenie has left, but I intend to enjoy all of them.
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