Hilary is about 8 years old....born right around the start of the Clinton administration. She's a basset hound and a great howler. Here she is in our living room back in the days when she was a city dog. She's now a country dog and spends most of her time outdoors chasing rabbits and warding off coyotes.

On February 19, 2002, Hilary finally succumbed to cancer. She had a tumor on her chest. We had the vet perform two operations over a six month period to try and remove the growth, but it was a losing battle. Early on that afternoon when Bonnie got home, it was evident that the tumor was back and out of control. The vet thought it may have cause some internal bleeding and so she had her put to sleep. It was a sad day for all of us....she really was the first lady of all of our animals. Some people take their pets lightly...but...at the Olivas household...pets are family...we take that responsibility as seriously as we take responsibility for our kids.