There's no denying we've had some sadness since ringing in the New Year. Rest assured, Old Acquaintences will never be forgotten.

But there's something to be said for new friends too…

Along came the Beagle in the Sweater.

One look at him and we were able to smile once again.

We're calling him Maxwell Smarty-Pants!

That's because he knew what we needed to get through these tough times.

A simple cure really.

We needed to laugh and he was just the one to make it happen. 

It's funny about those who make us laugh.

Oftentimes, they've had their share of the blues but somehow they find a way to dance to anything.

It was only a few days into the New Year when an unsuspecting Maxwell wiggled and bounced into a shelter outside of Toronto, accompanied by his owner. Little did he know, his owner had come to the decision to give him up due to her own health issues. She thought maybe Maxwell could find another family to love him as she no longer could. But there was a problem. Maxwell is 10 years old and grossly overweight. He wasn't a good candidate for adoption. The shelter staff would have no choice but to put him down. Sadly, she agreed to those terms and walked away.

But this is not where the story ends!

Maxwell had already melted the heart of one particular staff member the moment he wiggled through the door.

She fell hard for the pudgy old beagle with the heartbreaking story and the funny little sweater.

She convinced her manager to give her time to perform a miracle.

Then she called us.

Sometimes, the stars magically align. We'll never know why or how these things happen. Life is such a mystery.

Our foster homes are full, but we wanted that miracle for him too.

Flying by the seat of our pants, we called on a couple who fostered for us in the past that were local to the shelter to see if they would assess Maxwell for us and ensure he was as sweet as he looked. John & Laura had fostered a few beagles for us in the past, but they lost their last one back in May and were having a tough time getting over him. You may recall Russell from Napanee? He sure did a number on their hearts as beagles tend to do.

But something happened when they met the beagle in the sweater.

Whether he used hypnosis or Love Potion No. #K9, Maxwell Smarty Pants did it again.

He made the couple with the grieving hearts start to smile and then, almost effortlessly, he made them laugh.

They say only time can help to heal our hearts after a loss, but beagles with silly old sweaters can also do wonders.

Thank you for making Maxwell's rescue possible. And please keep rooting for him!

Maxwell needs to lose a fair bit of weight before we can do some much needed dental work and ensure all his lumps are just fatty deposits.

In the meantime, he's going to curl up (in between work-outs) and enjoy his new HOME!