Originally Published in April 2019

Senior Political Science major Megan Brianne Owens is happy to have Beau Sebastian, a one-and-one-half year-old Golden Retriever-Hound mix, in her life, and she’s far from the only one.

Occasionally, I would go over to the house with a few of my friends for a few group meetings. Beau would be happy to crash in, and we would all be happy to see him. The first time I met him, he had just been fixed, but he was still a bundle of wild energy. However, that’s no surprise considering where he was born.   

Beau was born and raised in the country by a woman who just got a new job at the time. The woman quickly realized she couldn’t find the time to take care of him and that Beau needed a new home. Owens reached out and said she’d be glad to take the dog in.

In the country, Beau was allowed to roam free, and thus could run for miles. He could also get himself into things he wasn’t supposed to and occasionally eat garbage.

“When I took him in, it was the first time he’d ever been in a house,” Owens said. “It took a bit of time, but now he loves it.”      

Beau also loves going to the dog park. There was one instance where he was so excited to go there that he jumped out of Owens’s car while it was still moving, sending him tumbling down the road. He wasn’t hurt, but he was just that excited.  

One weird quirk Beau has while he’s at the dog park is whenever there’s a tennis ball lying around, he’ll pick it up and put it in the water dish. He would chew on it while it was still in the water bowl. Though Owens has tried to stop him doing that, all attempts have been proven fruitless.

“That’s his favorite thing to do,” Owens said. “It’s weird, and I’ve never seen any other dog do it before.”   

If there’s anything Beau loves immensely, it’s getting attention. If he doesn’t get as much attention as he wants, he’ll start being mischievous. One annoying habit he does is steal an article of Owens’s clothing when she’s not paying attention, and he won’t let go of it until he gets all the attention he wants.

Beau can also squeak his squeaky toys hard enough for you to hear if he wants to play. He’ll keep squeaking or nudging you with his toys until you give up and start to play with him.      

Another thing is to not leave umbrellas lying around, Beau will take it. If anything resembles a stick or a squeak toy, he’ll take it and carry it around with him.

Nevertheless, Beau is a sweet, fun dog to be around and is beloved by just about everyone who comes across him.    

Beau even gets along with the grey tabby resident cat, Toulouse. She was initially scared of Beau because of his large size, and all he wanted to do was play with her. Happily, she eventually warmed up to him, and the two of them are getting along fine.   

There’s no doubt Owens and her roommates adore Beau. They all enjoy his cuddles, belly rubs, and snuggles, especially if they’re having a hard day. They share the load in taking care of having him, and they couldn’t get enough of him.  

If there’s anything that makes Beau happy, besides eating apples, it’s being with other people. He’s a social butterfly, and if you just meet him, he’ll love to cuddle or make friends with you.

“Everybody in the world is his best friend,” Owens said. “Beau is the sweetest dog, not the smartest, but that’s okay. What he lacks in brains, he makes up for in friendliness.”