Seymour (aka Hector)
Seymour, aka Seymour Butts, aka Sergeant Spicy Weiner was adopted in July 2008 from Golden Gate Basset Rescue. We guessed he was around a year old, and he quickly gained weight and stole our hearts. He was svelte, funny, and loved to paw at the springy dog stoppers and bark at them. As a pup he would zoom around the living room, up the stairs, jump on our bed, and zoom back down again. He loved to chase the big dogs around the dog park, and would bark at them because his short legs couldn't keep up. He was usually obedient, except that one time we let him and Cassie (another GGBR rescue) off leash at a deserted beach, where they took off and we had to run after them for half a mile! Seymour was exceptionally patient and put up with wearing Halloween costumes. His pirate costume won him a year's worth of pet food! He learned to shake, and play dead, though it was usually a very slow lay down and eventual roll to the side. His bark was deep and commanding, though we never once heard him howl. He loved to steal Rob's socks and bury them in backyard for safe keeping. He chewed on stuffed animals, popped bubble wrap, and removed caps from plastic bottles. He ripped apart a plush octopus and pooped out a few 8" long tentacles! Likes include peanut butter, Costco rotisserie chicken, socks, chicken poo, and cat puke. Disliked baths (but loved getting towel dried), but not much else. He was so easy going and a wonderful dog. I loved his floppy ears and jowls, deep brown eyes, jelly chest, and butt whorls. Our beloved Seymour crossed over the rainbow bridge on 4/20/21. We are so lucky to have had him in our lives for the past 13 yrs. He was such a sweet little man, and we miss him so much.

Walter
Walter came to us, along with another basset named Sebastian, on January 15, 2010 at age two. A few weeks later another basset named Nikko came and the three were inseparable. He was rambunctious, full of life, and a mischievous little one. He was also quite the charmer, always making sure he gets the attention along with an armpit scratch when anyone acknowledges him. He loved to play and always initiated play time with the other boys, when they were not taking naps. When he was not playing, he was getting in trouble by capturing a mouse, figuring out what to do with it, and in a blink of an eye the mouse would take a leap of faith from the inside his paws and lived another day. After all his friends crossed the Rainbow Bridge, we became his pack for four and a half years. We were it. We ate together, played, relaxed, and enjoyed the warm summer days together. He loved cheese, teddy grahams, cheerios, dental sticks, almonds, and most of all he loved pizza. He always knew when it was pizza night, he can smell that dough rising throughout the day and looked forward to his piece of the pie. As he aged, his back legs and hips gave him trouble and going up and down the stairs became a challenge. Papa picked him up and brought him down every day, once we saw he was no longer able to hop willingly. On February 12, 2021 we made a heart wrenching call to finally let him rest and cross the bridge to join his friends. It was time, we were ready and I think he was too. It was not easy. No matter how much trouble they give us, no matter how much they love us one minute and want to bite our faces off the next, at the end of the ordeal they are still family. Walter made us laugh and gave us great memories to carry us through our days and we will forever keep him in our hearts. ‘till we meet again my baby Walda. Love, Mama, Papa, and Christian.

Bob
Bob came from the Sacramento County shelter in 2012 and was in foster care for two years, in at least 6 different homes, before coming to live with us in February 2014. We had just lost our beloved dog, Riley and our remaining basset, Billy seemed to really miss having a buddy, so we met Bob and decided to adopt him. Bob immediately got along with Billy and our cats. Bob came with a vet record dozens of pages long, from his years in foster care. He had a history of a heart murmur and occasional seizures. He had a congenital back deformity that made it impossible for him to lift his head up and gave him a perpetual submissive look. We quickly discovered that he had anxiety attacks, usually at night, which could be triggered by thunder, another dog coughing, or nothing, as far as we could tell. In spite of his long medical chart, in his 4 years with us, we witnessed only a few seizures, which lasted only a minute or two, and our veterinarian never detected his heart murmur, so neither of those conditions required any medication or treatment. In his last years, Bob was incontinent, which required management, but he never lost his good nature. Bob and Billy were good companions for each other, as they went through their old age infirmities together. Billy left us in May 2017, and Bob left us in January 2018, almost exactly 4 years from when we adopted him. The photo is of Bob at Spring Fling 2017 when he found a cozy bed in a bin of outdated "Waddle" T-shirts. Rest in peace, little Bobby. Billy is waiting at The Bridge for you.---Fran and Mark Madden, Jerry and Chuck (January 2018)

Earl
Very sorry to report that Earl, our beloved Basset hound and GGBR alumnus, passed away peacefully at home after a long battle with cancer. Earl was born and raised on an airforce base in Georgia, and later transferred to California. After serving his country, he lived the high life in a Los Altos Hills mansion before arriving at GGBR. He was then fostered for a year in Roseville, before we adopted him three years ago. With us, he lived the surf life in Santa Cruz, and was a regular at the Dog and Seabright beaches. Then, a year ago, he joined us on our move to Europe, spending a few months living on a farm in rural England, before making his final move up to arctic Norway, where he spent his retirement enjoying the midnight sun, snow, and northern lights. We want to extend our gratitude to the GGBR for bringing Earl into our lives - he was a fantastic dog-friend who brought joy to a great many people and is very sorely missed. RIP buddy, Feb 10, 2004 - Dec 14, 2017. Lots of love, Pete and Chloe.

Billy
Back in August 2010, Billy was only supposed to be a quick pickup and drop off. He was probably about 7 years old then, and was surrendered by his owner to the Stockton shelter. I was supposed to pick him up from the shelter, keep him over the weekend, and then deliver him to his foster home on Sunday. Well, Billy charmed us from the get-go. He immediately got along perfectly with our older bassets, Jackie and Kirby, and our cats. By the end of the weekend, we knew that Billy was ours. Yes, Billy was noisy. He also loved to get up on the highest perch he could find. It could be the kitchen table, (if we neglected to push our chairs in), or the top of a crate, or even the top of a stucco wall, requiring ascent of a couple of smaller objects to reach his goal. He also loved to run off, laughing at us, who were trying to catch him. It wasn’t that he especially wanted to escape; he just wanted the adventure. We always knew we had to be vigilant about keeping Billy secure. Aside from all that, Billy had the most pleasant and happy personality of any dog, anywhere. He was always good-natured and never grumpy. Billy liked everybody, human, canine, or feline. When Kirby passed away just a few weeks after Billy’s arrival, Billy filled Kirby’s shoes, almost seamlessly. It was as though it had all been planned. When we adopted 10-year-old basset Riley in October 2010, he and Billy instantly became best of buddies. They spent almost four years together as brothers and best friends. Billy was very saddened, when Riley died in 2014, but he welcomed new brother, Bob. Billy was never as close to Bob as he had been to Riley, but he and Bob were good company for each other, as the two of them went through their old age issues together, during the next few years. In his 7 years with us, Billy shared his home with adopted “siblings” Kirby, Jackie, Riley, Bob and Jerry (fka Frank), as well as foster siblings Dora, Daisy, Jerry (2011), Darlene, Isabella, Sam, Roy, Beau, Abby, Cokie, Roxie, Neil, George, Emma Jean, Barney, Mabel, and Kathy. Billy left us at the end of May 2017. Mark’s impression of Billy, on that weekend, back in August 2010, was that Billy was “a keeper”. Billy was that, and so much more. His unique voice could be annoying, but he was never out-of-sorts. He was just a happy guy, loving life--a very lovable and memorable dog. Fran and Mark Madden, Bob and Jerry, May 30, 2017