Bellingham Bassets Testemonials and articles

Sister and brother, Bernard and Begonia!

by Gretchen Hoey on 01/05/12

Hi Gretchen! Happy New Year. We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Attached are some videos and pictures of Bernard and Begonia. They were Garth and Bermie's kids from March 14, 2011. Bernard weighs in at 75lbs and Begonia is a svelte 55lbs. One of the amazing things about these two bassets whether we are walking them, at the dog park, wherever, people stop their cars or come over to tell us how beautiful they are. They know they come from a top breeder and a champion line. For us, they are just the best, sweetest dogs in the whole world. Keep in touch! Nancy

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Harmony and Garth puppy at 6 1/2 months old

by Gretchen Hoey on 01/05/12

Hi Gretchen! I'm sending you kind of an alarming amount of photos of Basil (Basil Rose), our beloved pup. Her parents are glorious Garth and Harmony. These days at about 6.5 months shes almost 40 lbs! Her ears are almost 9 inches long, and we've taken to calling her muffin paws because of how chubby and saggy her ankles and paws look. She's still quite wrinkly, and has the most beautiful freckles on her snout ( much like her daddy). When we take her to the off-leash dog run here in the SF bay area, we can barely get 100 ft without people stopping us to pet and admire Basil. Multiple people have told us that she's the most beautiful basset hound they've ever seen! In terms of personality, she's both sides of the spectrum. One minute, the ultimate trouble maker, rip-roaring through our house with toys, abducted pieces of toast, favorite socks, etc. and the next minute, she's curled up on top of one of us, fast asleep and snoring. We adore her, to say the least. Thank you so so much for letting us become parents to this precious puppy. I'd love to see some pictures of other pups from her litter to see how similar/different they look, too! Also, we need to talk about securing Basil a sibling in the next year! Happy Holidays, New Years, and lots of blessings, Angie, Kenny and Basil Rose

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Testamony of a happy Lady and happy Hound!

by Gretchen Hoey on 08/27/11

From: Elizabeth Brodie

I had lost my old Basset girl which I dearly loved and I was searching the web for Basset breeders who may have puppies. I emailed several websites in California (where I live) but received no reply from any of them. I kept coming back to Bellingham Bassets website, I was impressed with all the information provided plus the pictures and stories of the Bassets at Bellingham. I emailed Gretchen and immediately received a reply, she requested I contact her by phone so we could talk. I called her, we had a good conversation and Gretchen I believe felt comfortable with me as a prospective adopter of one of pups. This is very important to Gretchen as she loves her Bassets and wants each and every one of them to go to good families. A short time later, an extra puppy was born (a couple of pups were hidden from view in the sonogram) and my Murphy had arrived. Gretchen and her family truly love and nurture these puppies from day one, by the time they come to you the adopting family they are fully bounded to humans. The veterinary care these pups receive is excellent and you can be assured of a very healthy pup. Murphy arrived by plane when he was eight weeks old. He has brought me joy and laughter each and every day and fits in perfectly with my Golden Retreiver and Mainecoon Cats. At 7 months he weighs about 60 lbs. and is the happiest pup ever. If you are looking for the best, adopt your pup from Gretchen and Bellingham Bassets.

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Letter from a mother and daughter visiting their puppy at 5 weeks old

by Gretchen Hoey on 08/19/11

Hi Gretchen!

We finally made it home last night at 11:30pm. It was a great trip, but we are both glad to be home.

Thank you so much for letting us visit. It was such a treat to meet you, see your beautiful home, and of course meet Dudley! One of my goals for Gracie's childhood was for her to experience EXACTLY what she got to do at your house: see the puppies with their mother, hold her puppy when he's just weeks old, drive away full of anticipation for his arrival in the weeks to come! I cannot thank you enough, truly.

The time at your house was a gift for both of us.

I have thought about how we came into contact with you, and I must say that it feels as if there was a bit of Divine Intervention. I googled "basset hound breeders", and different variations of such, so many times over the past year when our beloved Murphy was in his final days, and never found you. Then, the very week Gracie indicated she was open to talking about getting a dog, there you were! And now, here we are!

I want you to know that I appreciate how much effort you put into your family: Raising your beautiful girls, creating a beautiful home, tending to the needs of all the dogs, taking care of your husband when he's home and away. All of these selfless acts require an extraordinary amount of focus and energy. To do them all with such grace is not always easy, and to do it while sleep deprived is basically impossible! I sense this to be a time of great joy, accomplishment, and transition in your family. I can only imagine what it might feel like to have your daughter going off to college. I'm sure the time feels as if it's flown by.

In some ways, Gracie and I are in a similar place, in that she is heading to a new school, and a new phase in her life where she will not need me in the same way she's needed me these past 11 years. It is not the monumental milestone of going off to college, but it is a new phase nonetheless. I'm sure this is why I felt such a swirl of emotions listening to you describe the way Ginger scoops her babies close up under her to keep them safe, while also hearing about your wonderful party ! Two ends of the motherhood spectrum!

I do feel as if I've made a horrible error in that I did not think to ask about the timing of actually getting Dudley home. I am trying to figure out how to coordinate his arrival with our end of the summer schedule, Gracie's school schedule, and ballet audition schedule, and I cannot come up with anything that works that doesn't require my doing another 10 hour drive.

Sept. 6th is the first day of school, which doesn't work. I feel it's important for Gracie to be at home with him when he arrives, so that we all have some time together. I understand he cannot fly prior to this date, so is it possible for him to come the following Saturday Sept.10th.?, or is it possible to somehow get him around Sept. 3rd?

When does George leave for Texas? I'm wondering if the Driver's route takes him down I-5 at all? And would Dudley be able to ride with him for a while. Even if it's just down to Seattle, that would be a huge help. If not this driver, is there anyone else you know who would be willing to make the drive down to Seattle? Ideally, I'd love it if someone were available to drive to Tacoma or Olympia. If you can think of any other options, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks again for everything,

MaryAnn

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Testamonials from my Basset puppy families!

by Gretchen Hoey on 08/19/11

My little new owner of Rogers the Basset. This little boy was terrified of dogs. At the age of 2 he suffered a trauma with a dog encounter that left him emotionally scarred and terrified of animals. When he came to my house to visit his new puppy, he was unable to get near him and did not want to hold him what so ever! He has not held or touched a doggie since he was two!! By 1/2 hour into the visit with Rogers, he was able to hold and snuggle his new puppy without any fear!!! The gentleness and love of Rogers won him over and cured a 6 year fear of dogs! All praise goes to the Lord, maker of all creatures great and small!

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