We picked up our little puppy, Beijet on July 10, 1999 when she was nine (9) weeks old. She was a beautiful golden retriever that was real light golden almost beige in color. Many people ask how we came up with her name. Suffering from jet lag from a cruise to Alaska, we concluded that the color “beige” in French must have to be Beijet so hence her name was given. Many years later we found out that the color “beige” in French is just “beige”. Oh, well that’s the way it is. Although Beijet’s father, Gangway’s Grand Cherokee was a Champion show dog and her mother was Allenride Ace in the Hole, Beijet would probably have done well in dog shows but we never had any intent on showing her with all the work that it would entail.

Bejiet was quite the high energy puppy who engaged in various what we called terrorist activities which included running off with any soft item (napkins, paper towels, dish towels, socks, etc) and destruction of several items which will remain nameless. It would all be a game to her and we made a good attempt to train her ourselves but she had a mind of her own. Beijet loved to play with all her various toys but tended to destroy the ones that were not too robust. We finally found her a couple of nice hard Kong toys, one that we called the little fire hydrant which she played with every day and Saturn. Beijet used to insist on biting her leash in order to take you for that walk instead of the other way around. We used to call her the ‘little goose” as a nickname and had many songs that we would make up to celebrate her life.

Beijet loved all people and was always the center of attention. She considered life one big party with her being the guest of honor. Since we entertained frequently in our home, Beijet thought every party was for her. Since her birthday was May 4, each year we had a big Beijet’s Birthday Party and Cinco de Mayo feast to celebrate. It was the highlight of the year and many people attended making Beijet one of the most well known dogs in the automotive industry. She received quite a few gifts too. However, the next day after every party, Beijet would be sulking and suffering from what we would call “post party depression”.

Beijet loved to travel in the car or a plane and we would take her with us whenever we could. We frequently took her to Grandma and Grandpa’s condo up in Traverse City, Michigan. However, the highlight of her life was traveling to our other home in Pebble Beach, California. Beijet would love going for walks there and at the ocean, having lunch in Carmel and joining us for some wine tasting at the wineries. She was able to make only three (3) trips to her California home.

On June 3, 2006, Beijet collapsed at our house and we rushed her to our veterinary hospital. A battery of tests was performed of which none were conclusive on diagnosing the problem. Her gums were extremely pale indicating that she had lost a considerable amount of blood. Our veterinarian explained that she would have to open Beijet up for some exploratory surgery to find out the problem. Beijet had an emergency splenectomy due to the tumors that were discovered in her spleen. It was then diagnosed that she had hemangiosarcoma.

Hemangiosarcoma is a form of cancer which originates in the endothelium, which is the lining of blood vessels and spleen. As might be expected of a tumor arising in the blood system, they are highly malignant and can be found almost anywhere in the body since blood vessels are necessary in almost all body tissues. Since Bejiet was a young dog, we decided in conjunction with the Animal Cancer and Imaging Center in Rochester Hills to provide her a chance to extend her life by initiating chemotherapy, various medications, vitamins, Chinese herbs and a special diet.

Beijet did very well with both types of chemotherapy that she received. She was rarely ill from the chemotherapy. We knew that we would have to be vigilant in giving her medications on time. The Chinese herb (Yunnan Pai/Bai Yao) was given to both prevent and stop a bleed if any tumors that she had would rupture. We knew that the prognosis on hemangiosarcoma was very poor and that most dogs do not survive more than six months with surgery and subsequent chemotherapy. Although we were told that Beijet did not have any tumors the beginning of September, tumors were again found on her liver the end of October.

Beijet was still feeling good and was able to make one last trip to California the month of November 2006. She had a good time out there going to the ocean, visiting with out of town guests and enjoying Thanksgiving. Beijet traveled home to Michigan and was happy to once again participate with her guests at two Christmas parties. Two days, later Beijet could not walk and would not eat. The look in her eyes told us that she was suffering and that we would have to put her out of her misery. So we said our good-byes and Beijet, the poor little “goose” flew to heaven at 4:15 in the afternoon on December 19 after bravely fighting the illness for 6 ½ months. Our veterinarian said that she had actually suffered liver failure due to the cancerous tumors.

In an effort to honor Beijet and to do our part in finding a cure for cancer in dogs, we have given a generous donation to the National Canine Cancer Foundation where their mission is to find cures, better treatments and more accurate, affordable methods to detect cancer in dogs at an earlier stage.

Beijet gave us and everyone who met her so much unconditional love and we will miss her every day of our lives. She was such a playful, outgoing, wonderful dog whose joy in life to was to be with people. We are heartbroken that Beijet’s life was shortened to only 7 ½ years by hemangiosarcoma that could have been detected earlier and possibly prevented. Our little baby “Goose” will never be forgotten.

Carol Robinson
January 21, 2007