She was born in the summer of 2012, and she has been such a good girl - spent her life here with her mom Nova (who passed a few years ago at 13), sisters Sweetie and Minerva and took Charlotte on as her 'puppy' as well when we adopted her (even though Charlotte was two years old, still 'a puppy'.
She was partially deaf - and could howl so loudly and high-pitched that people in the next county probably covered their ears. The UPS and post men had a hard time as she would get so involved barking at them, often with her eyes closed, that she had no idea to get out of the way of their cars. Just the other day Mark said she was barking at the UPS man and now we sort of think she had a stroke, and maybe a series of them, although at the time it was just a bit off her usual behavior. She laid down in the yard to bark at them (not usual) and she couldn't quite howl or bark with her usual voice even when I got home from work. She's been 'halfway down' since the UPS delivery day, but she has bounced back and forth from almost her usual self a few times.
She was sitting in the sun a few days ago with the Lyffan Manx cat and they were having a very good time together. Back when Daphne was a puppy, we had a Manx cat named Mouse, and she used to follow her all around the road - we called her Sergeant Mouse walking her pups. When Minerva got lost in the snow and the thickets at two months old or so - for about two days, and we could NOT find her, we were so worried - it was Daphne that kept insisting on going out every few hours and she eventually brought her home. It was a bit like a miracle - but she didn't give up. She also really liked our goats - was heartbroken when our first one Kitty goat passed on at eight - was very upset the next one we got didn't like dogs (we gave that one to another farm, because she really didn't like dogs and wasn't happy either), and spent a lot of time with Melody, our blind goat. They didn't get along as well as she did with Kitty, but still, they enjoyed each other.
We let Daphne out the garage door when she had a bad stumble on the stairs, four days ago maybe? where I had to pick her up and bring her up the rest of the way (she has always had sporadic trouble with that one back leg tendon). We went to get her back out of the yard and she had fallen into a little hollow on the side of the road and couldn't get back up - Esme and I brought her back in the house and she was better again later. The next day she seemed fine, and then the rainy weather started up, and she was arthritic and down again. She went and in and out of the house with assistance a few days during the rain and was enjoying laying in front of the heater with other dogs and cats. She would say she couldn't get up to go out with the other dogs, and we carried her outside, but then she could walk back into the house afterwards and ask for a treat, but then a few hours later she was again unable to get up again without assistance...
All a prime example of Bluetick coonhound stubbornness, which her mother was 100% bluetick. Her dad was Catahoula leopard hound and lab. Today she couldn't get up in the morning. We carried her out to the yard and she could barely stand. She went to lay down under the tree where she had the other day. Mark came back to fetch her up and bring her inside and he said she walked a few steps under the big tree and fell over and was gone within a few minutes. Her grandmother Misha had a massive stroke, as well, at 17, which we wondered if maybe Misha had had other strokes before that one. Daphne was 12 (and a half, since she was born in the summer)
We will miss her greatly, the two-legged and the four legged family members alike.
at a year old
at a few months old
