A Beagle, A River, and A Bond That's Still Changing Lives
Frank Payne grew up on the Rappahannock River in Falmouth. A dog lover, even he wasn't prepared for the life-altering journey one lost beagle set him on. Webster's gone, but he's still healing people.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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A deer-hunting outing in Waverly, Virginia, turned into a life-changing event for Frank Payne when, out of nowhere, a “beagle came up to him and introduced himself.”
Payne has had dogs all his life, going back to when he was growing up in Falmouth near the Rappahannock. But this little fellow was special.
“There were 40 or 50 people,” on the trip that day and they were all out in the field, “but he came to me.”
Payne — based on the dog’s tag — knew the owner. He took Webster back and made a deal. For a couple large bags of dog food, the owner let Payne take him home.
“The guy who traded him had plenty of dogs, and I think he just knew,” Payne told the Advance. “And he knew Webster was sweet.” In other words, Webster was destined for more than being a hunting dog.
On the way home, Payne told Webster that he was going to “change his life for the better.” What Payne didn’t know at the time, he said, was how much Webster was about to “change mine for the better.”
That Webster was special was clear not just to Payne, but to his neighbors, as well. “The neighbors loved him,” Payne said. “Webster would go to the house and eat green beans.”
“He just makes me feel so much better,” a neighbor said to Payne one day. And with that Payne began to explore Webster becoming a therapy dog.
“Not every dog can be a therapy dog,” Payne said. There are trainings and tests and certifications to be gained. Webster, however, cleared those hurdles with ease.
“Webster was just easy going,” he said. “The perfect dog.”
He began going to nursing homes, then moved up to rehab centers and then finally children’s hospital at VCU.
“When we were there,” Payne said, “I would take him into the rooms, and I saw what he did. He was so small so he could get up into the bed and be close to the patients. And that connection was special.”
Webster’s Gift
When Webster passed away, Payne fell into grief. “He was just special. I think it was because of the therapy we did together.”
He dealt with that grief, in part, by writing.
“The ideas just come to me,” he said. And the result was his first children’s book, Webster the Beagle that was published in 2018 by Mascot Books.
As sales began to gain steam, Payne decided that — like Webster — giving to others was the best thing to do. So all the proceeds he makes from the book go toward several charities.
Book sales help support Richmond County Little League, and he also gives some of the money to Richmond Animal Care and Control. Separate from Animal Control, RACC, according to its website, helps “provide humane care for more than 3,000 stray, sick, injured, and relinquished pets per year. Our focus is on keeping owned animals out of the shelter environment and instead offering pet owners a variety of rehoming options and resources to find placement for their pet(s).”
Closest to Payne’s heart is generating enough book sales to help establish a “Webster the Beagle Room” at VCU Children’s Hospital’s new tower. Sales from the first book have him well on the way to his goal.
A second book — Webster the Beagle and His Adventures at the River — is one that will hopefully put him over the top.
The book again stars Webster, this time enjoying life and the seasons that define the Rappahannock River and all the animals that visit throughout the year. It includes stories of Webster’s adventures with the osprey, blue crabs, oysters, and rockfish who live along the river
The book celebrates “my love for the river,” Payne said, “and my love for Webster.”
“I’m often asked to give speeches” to young people, Payne said, “and I always ask them, ‘What can inspire you?’”
It could be a parent or a doctor or a neighbor or a friend.
“In my case, it was a dog.”
What a legacy Webster has left.
How to Buy the Book and Support Webster’s Work
Webster the Beagle and His Adventures at the River is available at Amazon. You can also purchase directly from Payne at one of his book signings.
He has an event coming October 5 at the Irvington Farmers Market in Irvington, Virginia. Events closer to Fredericksburg are in the works, and the Advance will point to those as they become available.
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