Ladybird & Biscuit

My 2 Mini Dog Tags are to honor and keep close to my heart two wonderfully devoted dogs that graced and enriched my life. 

The first tag is for LadyBird. She was an emaciated 12 year old retriever-mix-stray that found herself on the euthanasia list at BARC due to her condition. She was a mess when I saw her online. She was so thin, had so much hair loss, and had a large angry mass on her back right leg. Her eyes said it all, and were pleading for help. I immediately drove to BARC and saved her. She was the sweetest girl right from the beginning, even though she had clearly been suffering on the streets of Houston. She immediately was MY girl and I was HER person. She had only a number assigned to her, no name. A bright spot for me here in Houston (and there are few!) are the wildflowers planted by LadyBird Johnson. So, that’s how I named her! She was my bright spot, so the name seemed to be perfect.

I struggled living here in Houston. We had just sold our farm in PA to come here to help care for my mother-in-law. Lady Bird was my saving grace. She looked at me with such love and was so devoted. She traveled with me to the family cabin in the mountains of Colorado, and found her love of life again. She grew strong, got her lovely coat back, and had a successful surgery to cleanly remove the mass which was cancerous. I had her not long enough before she told me it was time for her to go. She was my Ladybird, my very best girl. Hence why I engraved "b girl" and heart on the back of the tag. I am still mourning my Ladybird and missing her daily impact on my life.

The second tag is to honor my sweet boy Biscuit who I recently and suddenly lost. I rescued this sweet boy in Pennsylvania. He was originally for my son - that is until Biscuit decided I was his person. This guy was my velcro dog, always with me. He looked at me in such a way that I knew he totally loved me and he absolutely understood what I was saying. Like Ladybird, he also made me feel so special. He was very smart, scruffy, and so cute. I called him "my cub" which is engraved on the back of my second tag. Less than a week ago I lost him. He was in critical care for four days and was not responding to any treatments, so I brought him home. I had two days with him before he left me. My heart is broken without him. I really felt valuable in Biscuits eyes and he was just the greatest companion. I am lost right now without him. 

I wanted a special piece of jewelry to honor these two extraordinary dogs that showed me unconditional love and devotion. Tiny Tags was it. I’m excited to receive them to wear daily, keeping my beloved best girl Ladybird, and my cub Biscuit close to my heart. 

- Beth VanPelt