Two years ago, I was lucky enough (with your help) to cross paths with a painfully shy, trembling beagle named "Hazel." Shortly after that, I sent you an update on her. I think at the time I told you that she was doing "much better". Well, I had no idea, two years later, that she could be improving still!

Hazel and I moved last year from the noisy streets of Boston to a quiet neighborhood on the beach on the North Shore. Not much beach time for her, but the quiet streets make for a much more relaxed beagle. She's surprising me daily with little "tricks" and personality quirks that add to her charm. She becoming a lot more bold and pushy. She's the most animated I've ever seen her. She still has her moments when she needs some "alone time". She's still afraid of a laundry list of things (newspaper, trash bags, lamps, etc...) But she's handling her fears a lot better than she was a year ago. She's "trained" alot more than I thought you could train a beagle. She's the light of my life.

When "we" moved last year, it was a time that I really needed some company. That was, I think, a big part of her training. To have her sleeping with me at night gave her more confidence in me and she learned to trust me a lot. I think, before I had her, there was no or little human contact. What there was, was probably pretty rough.

I think in the past few months, she's improved even more. I started a new job in a small company in Marblehead. Hazel comes to work with me every day! She's sleeping under my desk at my feet as I write this letter.

She's very rarely alone anymore.

I just wanted to let you know a couple of things. First of all, Hazel is a completely different dog and she's a lot happier these days. Second, Hazel has made an incredible difference in my life. Her face in the morning is a gift. She's a wonderful part of my days and nights.

I think of you often and can't thank you enough for bringing Hazel to me. She means the world to me and I couldn't have gotten through some really tough times without her.

Thank you for my "Baby",
Tim Palin
www.timpalin.com (Hazel has a gallery on this site.)