Were you born in a barn??

Yep! Well, more of a shed behind the house, actually.

Welcome to the story of Harvey, Beagle/Labrador - we call him "the Beagador". Harvey was very recently diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, so this blog is to document our journey together through his treatment, as well as to share the joys he has brought to us for the last 11 years.

My name is Becki Bradford. I've owned a professional pet sitting service since 1996, after working for the former owners for a couple of years.
When I first starting pet sitting, I thought it would be a great way to enjoy spending time with animals, since my husband, Frank didn't want pets, especially a dog. After growing up surrounded by critters, I found that working with other people's pets only served to make me miss having a dog even more, since it seemed everyone had one but us.
At the time, we shared our home with two beautiful cats, Bother and Snuggles. I loved them dearly and we still have Bother with us, but being a dog person, there was a gap in our family that could only be filled with the wagging tail of a canine.

On a visit to a friend's home one weekend in 1997, he told us that there were two pups left from a litter recently born and asked if we wanted to see them. If Frank has a soft spot for animals, it's the babies - tiny kittens, squirmy pups. Who can resist those faces?

We headed out to the shed to see the furbabies and there he was, this precious little furball, running away from Frank as he tried to catch him to pick him up. He fit into the palm of my hand with his little legs hanging over the edges and his tiny tail resting on the pulse point of my wrist. I think that's the moment when his puppy magic seeped into my veins and found it's way to my heart.
Tommy, our friend, half-jokingly asked if we wanted to take one of the pups home with us. Frank looked panic-stricken. I, of course, said yes immediately. We put the pup back down with his sister and headed inside to visit for a while.
Before we left, Tommy reminded us to go get our pup. I think Frank was convinced he'd gotten away with making it to the car and heading back home sans puppy. Tommy and I weren't giving up, though. Frank did his best to convince me that he'd be back up that way the following week and could bring the little guy home then, but I knew that if we left the driveway without that puppy, it just wasn't gonna happen! It was that night or never.
So home we came, carrying the tiniest little baby dog in a wooden milk crate with a towel in the bottom.