Joey is the older of my two Beagles. Being that he was adopted from the Penny Angels Beagle Rescue, we do not know his exact age. The rescue estimated his age as 8 or 9 when we adopted him 5 years ago. So that makes him about 13 or 14 years old. (I did the math in my head. Imagine that)
Joey is a retired hunting dog. Although he enjoys living in a warm comfortable home, Joey is happiest when he is outside tracking a rabbit or squirrel. When he finds a trail, he begins to bark. Now Joey does not have an average hound dog bark. The sound he makes has been described as a sea lion, a fog horn and a duck. Some people have heard him barking and could not be believe that sound came from a dog.
Ornery is a great way to describe Joey. He opened a refrigerator when he lived at the rescue. While staying at a foster home, Joe chased some geese onto a frozen pond and would not come off the ice when he was called. They family was very concerned and called the police department to help get him off the ice.
Joey never walks around anything. He will step on anything (or anybody for that matter) that is in his way. He will push something aside rather than take a step sideways. When my Father was installing a new kitchen facet, Joey walked over him to see what was in the cabinet under the sink. Maybe that is why the hot and cold indicators are reversed.
I realized I have yet to explain why I call Joey “Iron Dog”. He earned this nickname because just when I think his age and the hard life he endured as a hunting dog have finally caught up to him, Joe surprises me. He will become energized and spend the remainder of the day turning us in to human dog doors. He will go to the back door to be let out. About twenty to thirty minutes later, he will bark at the door to come in. This process will be repeated about every two hours.
Joey is a stubborn dog. If he is doing something such as chewing cardboard and we tell him to stop, Joe will momentarily look at us and return to whatever he is doing. Being that Joe was older when I adopted him, I did not know him as a puppy. When I recall the Beagle mischief he has gotten into at our house, the thought of him as a puppy scares me.
Joey stole my heart the first day I met in him at Penny Angels Beagle Rescue. I will love him for the rest of my life.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Kimberly
Let me give you some background information about all the members of my family.
Kimberly is 15 years old and a sophomore at Delsea Regional High School. She is taking 4 "Honors" classes this year and is very excited about her course work. Kim is also in the marching band this year.
The kids in the marching band seem nice. But based on what Kim has told me, they can get somewhat wild. But she enjoys being in the band's color guard and is helping her overcome her shyness. For example, she was sitting in the stands at Kingsway High School watching the football game after the band's performance. A friend dared her to yell "Come on Delsea, Show them what you are made of".
Kim took this challenge and said "Come on Delsea, show those pansy-a#### what you are made of. Show them how real men fight." Needless to say, this drew laughter and surprise from the other kids in the band. Many had not heard her speak a full sentence and now she was screaming at football games.
Then there was the bus ride back to Delsea. The kids were laughing and joking around. At one point, someone yelled to the band director that two kids were "making out". Kim claims all she did was sit and talk with a friend while this was happening. Such innocence.
I think I will offer to chaperon on future band outings.
Kimberly is 15 years old and a sophomore at Delsea Regional High School. She is taking 4 "Honors" classes this year and is very excited about her course work. Kim is also in the marching band this year.
The kids in the marching band seem nice. But based on what Kim has told me, they can get somewhat wild. But she enjoys being in the band's color guard and is helping her overcome her shyness. For example, she was sitting in the stands at Kingsway High School watching the football game after the band's performance. A friend dared her to yell "Come on Delsea, Show them what you are made of".
Kim took this challenge and said "Come on Delsea, show those pansy-a#### what you are made of. Show them how real men fight." Needless to say, this drew laughter and surprise from the other kids in the band. Many had not heard her speak a full sentence and now she was screaming at football games.
Then there was the bus ride back to Delsea. The kids were laughing and joking around. At one point, someone yelled to the band director that two kids were "making out". Kim claims all she did was sit and talk with a friend while this was happening. Such innocence.
I think I will offer to chaperon on future band outings.
Watch Your Nose
Watch your nose.
I never said that phrase until we adopted Shelly, a tri-colored Beagle.
For those of you not familiar with Beagles, they are known to be “chow hounds”. They are on a constant mission to find food. Open the refrigerator, they are there. Open the oven, they are there. Open the dishwasher and soon you will find your Beagle with their front paws on the door of the machine. Their nose will be diligently surveying each dish for the most microscopic morsel of food.It is this behavior that warrants the phrase, “watch your nose”. The basic rule is that before you close a food related appliance; make sure the Beagle’s nose is not in the way.
Shelly may appear to be a low energy type of dog. And for a good portion of the time she is. But she can strike with the speed of a cobra when food is involved. A perfect example of this ability occurred one day when I was looking for something in my refrigerator. Shelly was by my side. Suddenly, she runs in to the living room. I follow her and discover she had stolen a chicken drumstick from a container in the refrigerator. On another occasion, she had taken three pancakes and left two on the plate.
Shelly was not fully housebroken when she came to live with us. She has now progressed to being about ninety-five percent trained. Although she has shown great improvement since that time, Shelly still has an occasional indoor accident. In fact, I find my self entering the house like a cop on a television show. I carefully open the door and quickly glance in to the living room.“Good, nothing there,” I quietly say to myself.I then slowly look around the front door to see if there is anything in the hallway. My head spins as I look into the hall and then into the kitchen. It as if my mind is telling me that if I sneak up on the “indoor accident”, it will not be so bad. If the hall is clean, I am faced with the final option of my search. I look at the dog. I scan her face to find any signs of guilt. There are none.
A lack of guilt on a Beagle’s face can be very misleading. They can be very strong-minded animals. When they get an idea they want to do something, they do it. If you happen to catch your Beagle doing something wrong, they will look at you as if to say, “Why are you telling at me. I’m just sitting here”
Walking on a leash was another skill Shelly had to learn when she came to live with us. Being a retired hunting dog, she has always enjoyed going for leash walks. Just the sight of her leash and harness sends her into a frenzy of barking and jumping. Unfortunately for me, I have to put her harness on at this time. After about five minutes of Beagle wrestling, Shelly is ready for her walk.
I am ready for oxygen.
After I regain consciousness, we go outside. You must understand that one does not take a Beagle out for a walk. You take then out for a sniff. The moment a most Beagles are outside, their noses are on the ground. This is especially true of dogs that are trained to hunt.
Being a retired hunting dog, Shelly has two modes of sniffing. There is the normal sniff and the trail sniff when the dog has found the scent of an animal and begins to track. Shelly makes a sound similar to that of a helicopter when she is tracking. I almost expect her to lift off the ground and circle the house.
Nothing will stop the Beagle who is on the trail of a rabbit or squirrel. Not even their owner at the other end of their leash. Walking Shelly has not only sharpened my agility and reflexes, but it has enhanced my own tracking skills. I can now find people drinking coffee at sports arenas and pizza shops at shopping malls.Shelly has also learned things from me. She surfs the Internet, watches football on Sundays and is a fan of Court TV.
Well, I have to go now. Shelly has to check her email.
I never said that phrase until we adopted Shelly, a tri-colored Beagle.
For those of you not familiar with Beagles, they are known to be “chow hounds”. They are on a constant mission to find food. Open the refrigerator, they are there. Open the oven, they are there. Open the dishwasher and soon you will find your Beagle with their front paws on the door of the machine. Their nose will be diligently surveying each dish for the most microscopic morsel of food.It is this behavior that warrants the phrase, “watch your nose”. The basic rule is that before you close a food related appliance; make sure the Beagle’s nose is not in the way.
Shelly may appear to be a low energy type of dog. And for a good portion of the time she is. But she can strike with the speed of a cobra when food is involved. A perfect example of this ability occurred one day when I was looking for something in my refrigerator. Shelly was by my side. Suddenly, she runs in to the living room. I follow her and discover she had stolen a chicken drumstick from a container in the refrigerator. On another occasion, she had taken three pancakes and left two on the plate.
Shelly was not fully housebroken when she came to live with us. She has now progressed to being about ninety-five percent trained. Although she has shown great improvement since that time, Shelly still has an occasional indoor accident. In fact, I find my self entering the house like a cop on a television show. I carefully open the door and quickly glance in to the living room.“Good, nothing there,” I quietly say to myself.I then slowly look around the front door to see if there is anything in the hallway. My head spins as I look into the hall and then into the kitchen. It as if my mind is telling me that if I sneak up on the “indoor accident”, it will not be so bad. If the hall is clean, I am faced with the final option of my search. I look at the dog. I scan her face to find any signs of guilt. There are none.
A lack of guilt on a Beagle’s face can be very misleading. They can be very strong-minded animals. When they get an idea they want to do something, they do it. If you happen to catch your Beagle doing something wrong, they will look at you as if to say, “Why are you telling at me. I’m just sitting here”
Walking on a leash was another skill Shelly had to learn when she came to live with us. Being a retired hunting dog, she has always enjoyed going for leash walks. Just the sight of her leash and harness sends her into a frenzy of barking and jumping. Unfortunately for me, I have to put her harness on at this time. After about five minutes of Beagle wrestling, Shelly is ready for her walk.
I am ready for oxygen.
After I regain consciousness, we go outside. You must understand that one does not take a Beagle out for a walk. You take then out for a sniff. The moment a most Beagles are outside, their noses are on the ground. This is especially true of dogs that are trained to hunt.
Being a retired hunting dog, Shelly has two modes of sniffing. There is the normal sniff and the trail sniff when the dog has found the scent of an animal and begins to track. Shelly makes a sound similar to that of a helicopter when she is tracking. I almost expect her to lift off the ground and circle the house.
Nothing will stop the Beagle who is on the trail of a rabbit or squirrel. Not even their owner at the other end of their leash. Walking Shelly has not only sharpened my agility and reflexes, but it has enhanced my own tracking skills. I can now find people drinking coffee at sports arenas and pizza shops at shopping malls.Shelly has also learned things from me. She surfs the Internet, watches football on Sundays and is a fan of Court TV.
Well, I have to go now. Shelly has to check her email.
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