Mango was a very special puppy. He might have been born with a bad heart, but the heart he had was pure gold. This little pup was all personality. He was a real go getter and loved everyone. He spent his days playing with his sister Daisy and never let her get the best of him despite her being a bit bigger than him.
Mango had a mind of his own. He did only what Mango wanted to do, when Mango wanted to do it. I would call him and if Mango wanted to come he would if not he would just give me the look as if he was saying " I will not come to you because I am Mango."
Mango also loved chasing cats. I would let him in the house and the first thing he would do is eat all the cat food then go look for our two cats Blue and Maggie. If he got ahold of them the cat fur was flying as he wouldn't let go until a good amount of hair was pulled.
Mango also liked just laying on the couch with Daisy and me watching television. He was more of a pet than a hunting hound, but he managed to impress us with baying up a coon in the river only his 2nd time out hunting with our other hounds.
Mango went with us all the way out to California and back, a trip I was worried about him taking, but Mango did well. Our 3 yr old neice also got to see our hounds for the first time and wasn't impressed because she is affraid of dogs. She would look out in the backyard and instead of saying I don't like the dogs they scare me, she would say. "I don't like the Mangos they scare me."
We had hoped that Mango would overcome his bad heart despite the odds against him. I always knew Mango would not be with us for too long, but never thought it would happen this soon. I am glad I was able to give Mango a good, happy life only wish it would have been longer. At least long enough for him to tree his first mountain lion.
Mango died the evening of July 2, 2002. He went down to the green area of our pasture, laid down and passed away silently. Daisy found him there and he was buried at the back of our pasture between two trees. I know this may sound a bit much for a 5 month old pup but Mango was an important part of our family and our lives. He is missed greatly.
