Peeing as a pastime

Dogs like to pee on things, particularly us boys. When I pee, I've always liked to try to make it count. I never was one much for marking my turf, although now that the little pissant is here I do spend some of my precious peeing time spreading my urine over his. After all, this yard was mine first, and I intend to keep it mine.

Sometimes ya just gotta mark something after someone else has tried to claim your space.

I've always tried to use my pee in a meaningful manner. I pee on pop's ladders when they're in the yard, I pee on mom's lilac bushes in the back yard, and I pee on pop's shed where he keeps the lawnmower.

The backyard has one special place that I consider the holy grail for my pee … it's pop's deer decoy. During the winter it was buried so deep in the snow I didn't think it would ever reach a point where I could get at it again.

I am not intimidated by some old deer decoy although it is bigger than I am.  There still seems to be a lot of snow.

I kept checking to see if the snow was still deep.

I looked behind the decoy to see if I could maybe get back there and pee.  No luck yet.

Finally, I'm thinking I can get to it, if mom would let me out there. The snow is nearly gone from the back yard, and the deer is standing in its fullblown glory, waiting for my meaningful, golden stream. 

Oh mom, please let me into the backyard.  The decoy is calling my name.

Pop got home last night.  He let us into the backyard.  Mission accomplished.  I beat the little pissant, too.  He never got a shot off.  It was all mine!!

I think peeing should be an olympic sport.

Sleep, naps; it's what we're about, next to food

We need lots of sleep and we all have favorite places during the day. Daisy likes to go upstairs away from everyone if she can, Jade likes to sleep on pop's lap when he's in the recliner, and Oliver and I like to sleep next to mom on the couch or loveseat. Usually I'm always there. Sometimes Oliver feels he can't get next to her because there's not enough room. He's too nervous. He needs to chill and relax, but don't think that's ever going to happen. He's just the odd dog out.

He really is an odd duck, but he's not so bad.  He's getting better although I think he might be peeing in the house once in a while, although I've never caught him. 

During television time, pop likes to watch hockey and mom likes to watch NASCAR. That's a new thing for her since she just went to her first race in Florida with friends in February.

One of mom's favorite drivers is Danica Patrick, who drives a lime green car.  Mom picked her because, of course, she's a female, and because her car is lime green. This is pit row with Danica heading back out to the track.

It's kind of nice that she sits and watches something. Usually she's up and down, up and down, and it makes for a lot of disturbances for me when I'm trying to sleep. Now I can just lay down and get a good morning or afternoon rest.

Actually I can sleep pretty much anywhere, anytime.  But I prefer to sleep next to mom.  She keeps me warm.

Bear bait

I know pop loves us. He gives us treats all the time. Sometimes he gives us green beans (cuz of the fat Beagle who isn't fat anymore), sometimes he tosses little pieces of dogfood down from upstairs and watches us circle like sharks trying to find them all. He gives us these treats for our teeth, and even the wonderful Yummy Chummies. (Mom should have bought stock in that brand since we eat so many of them and the fish oil, too.)

We all behave very nicely, and sit waiting (impatiently) for our green beans.  They're yummy and healthy as long as mom and pop wash the salt off of them if they're the canned ones.

Pop likes to hunt, and while he's killed lots of stuff with a gun, his real love is bow and arrow hunting. He's gotten all kinds of animals, and a few of those dead heads are on the walls here. He's also had his motorcycle custom painted with pictures of dead things. Yuk. Well, I shouldn't say that because I really like to roll in dead things. It makes me smell exceptionally good, I think.



Mom and pop saw this bear along Turnagain Arm and stopped to take photos.  Pop said this was a small bear, a couple years old.  Pop is very smart and knows his wildlife.

The reason I put the bear photo in my blog is because the other day I started to wonder about this hunting thing. Pop has said we Beagles are nothing but bear bait. When I heard that mom and pop had seen this bear on their motorcycle ride, I started wondering if that were true. Would he take us out to try to bait a bear?

 

I'm wondering about what pop's thinking.  Would he do it?  I'd be very disappointed in him.  But I know mom would protect me cuz I'm her handsome boy and she loves me almost best.

But I think I'm going on a diet.  Let the fat girl win that contest.

Yep, let the fat girl win; besides she'd be easy to catch because she sleeps a lot and can't run as fast as I can.

I'm your friend; trust me

The little pissant's done it again. It makes for good dog fodder for the blog, and he's making it real easy for me to send him down the bunny trail.

Oliver's always poised to run somewhere ... out of the house, into the house, out the garage door.  He's just a runner.

Good thing he's had his shots. Pop opened the door between the house and the garage the other day and he flew through it like a greased pig. Out he ran, his nose to the ground. Mom and pop both hollered and called, but the little turd didn't even look back. Pop went after him, and mom saw a couple of cars dodge him. That's her worst fear that one of us will get hit by a car cuz we're not real smart about that kind of stuff. Well, they aren't. I am, because I spent a lot of time running loose in the Valley when I lived there.

Pop finally got him and brought him home, but he wasn't happy about it. The pissant bit him while he was trying to carry him home. He doesn't like to be picked up.

He's looked over the fence a lot of times and acted like he was going to jump.

The snow is mostly gone now, but Oliver couldn't help but look over the fence every time he could. 

I decided maybe I should check it out, and did, but the other side was not greener and I didn't see a single dog treat. I know I've got a good life here.

Like I said, I checked it out.  Not a Yummy Chummie in sight.

So all I have to say about that is, “I'm your friend, you can trust me. Let me help you.” Yeah. More treats for me.

Na, na, na, na, na, na

The little pissant is in big trouble. The rest of us get in trouble, too, but we just do little things. Daisy likes to chew up paper towels or steal socks or washclothes, but she mostly mouths them and doesn't put holes in stuff. I like to eat things I shouldn't (translate poop). Jade barks too much and is really nasty about sharing food. But this is all regular dog stuff. Mostly, though, we're pretty good. At least I think so.

He's just a devil dog.  Look at those eyes.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. We'll all steal food from the counters or tables if we can figure out how to get it, or team up and double-mug someone in hopes we can steal from their plates. That's all normal Beagle behavior and lots of times it's a game for us. We get to test how smart we are, and how smart our humans are. When we get something from them, we're smarter than they are. Haha. Gotcha, mom and dad.

Jade sleeps alot, and she doesn't usually get in too much trouble, except for barking.  But she's a food thief, too, given the chance.  But that's a proud Beagle trait when we outsmart our humans.

The little pissant (and I don't really say that kindly), has that squeaky, paint-peeling voice; but worst of all, he likes to chew up underwear. Mom keeps her stuff where he can't get to it, but somehow he's figured how to get to pop's. He goes upstairs where papa keeps his dirty clothes and gets into it, pulls it out and chews it up. And I mean, really chew it up and put holes in it so it has to be thrown away. Pop was NOT happy, and hollered at him. Haha. Makes me laugh. I think I'll help him over the fence. Run free, little Beagle, run free.

Next time I see him up at the fence I'm going to act normal like I'm going to sniff his butt.  Then I'll put my cold nose there and that will help him over.  Begone devil dog!!

Stinky Beagles need love, too

I was lying next to mom, sleeping. She suddenly held her nose and said, “stinky Beagle.” Then she hollered upstairs to pop, who was working on the big computer. He just laughed.

Hey, come on.  It's not like I do it on purpose.  It's what you feed me.

Sometimes a Beagle, me anyway, has digestive problems. I can't help it if they feed me stuff that gives me gas. I don't deliberately let it rip. Actually, I don't let it rip at all.  I'm very discreet and quiet about it. The problem is that the food I'm given gives me stinky gas, and even though it's quietly sent out into the area, the smell of it gives me away.

Daisy was wondering, "OMG, what's that smell?  It's making me gag.  And I'm a dog.  I love smelly stuff!!"

Sometimes it happens when I'm lying on the floor next to pop's recliner. He's usually in it scratching my back. I try to hold onto it, but I'm just so relaxed I can't, and it gets loose. If I'm lucky, pop gets blamed for it. That doesn't always happen, like when I was laying right next to mom. I heard her say something about, “silent but deadly.”

Play time in the big house

Oliver likes to play with two balls that are here at the house. Jade and I don't much care about toys, not unless there's food involved, which doesn't happen around here. Daisy sometimes will play with a Kong and chew on it, but she doesn't even care about a ball. Only when Oliver wants to play with them. Then she wants them and takes them away from him.

Poke, poke, poke.

The pissant now has this other nasty habit. He used it on Baxter, the Yorkie, and now he's doing it with me. He wants to play, but mom and pop don't want me running around since I have a bad leg and pop figures I'll break it if I twist wrong. Oliver tries to get me to play and I want to, but I try to sit and ignore him so I don't get hurt. But he pokes me with his nose, and pokes me and pokes me. It's a good thing for him I'm a tolerant kinda Beagle.

Dogs have friends, too

Humans don't always think that dogs have friends. But we do. We may not always see them, or see them real often, but we have friends, and we remember them even if time, life or death separates us.

This house has had multiples of doggie friends, both new and old. And so I'll tell you about some of them.

Baxter is a Yorkie who owns Stacey. Baxter is a little guy and still really young. He's so little. I don't think I've ever seen such a little dog. He's kind of silly looking. He's got hair all over his face, kind of black and tan hair, and little sparkley eyes with a snap to them. He'll probably be fun to play with when he grows up. I hope he gets bigger.

Baxter's mom brought him to our house to socialize him with other dogs. That's funny. It's not like we've got the most social dogs in this house, except for me, of course. Mom only let two of us play with Baxter at a time until he got used to us, and we got used to him. First Daisy and I got to play with him. Of course, first we just sniffed him because we didn't know what he was. It took a while to figure out he was a dog. Looked like a mop top to me and we kept trying to smell the wrong end. But he moved, we figured out which end was which, and then he just bounced all over. He's kind of cute, I think.

Baxter, after a haircut.  Now you can see which end is which.

Then mom let Jade and Oliver out to see Baxter, and put Daisy and me in the greenhouse for a while so we didn't all get out at once and scare the little guy. After he got used to all of us, then mom let us all out at once.

Baxter didn't seem too afraid of us although he stayed close to his mom and sat on her lap quite a bit. But it was kind of funny when Oliver went up to him and poked him with his nose. And then he just kept poking him. And poking him. It was like he trying to get Baxter to move so he could either see what he was or play with him. Maybe he thought he was a mouse or a rat and he thought he should catch him. I still don't know what that was all about. And Oliver ain't talking about it.

The warmth of the sun and shedding

The sun is out and we Beagles love to lay in it. It's a lazy day, and we all took turns laying in that one special spot near the dining room table. Pop is usually sitting there playing on his computer, but he went out to have lunch with an old friend from Northwest Airlines. So it was just us and mom.

Jade had been outside earlier.  She was the last one to come inside, which never happens, so she was really, really tired.

Mom kept trying to take pictures of us laying in the sun. It doesn't work that well because there's so much sun that it washes our beautiful tri-colors out. Our white looks really clean, though.

Oliver was laying in the sun and was a litle grumpy when mom kept trying to take pictures.

We're sitting there in the sun, and we're awake now.  Me, Jade and Daisy (from left to right).

All of us are tri-colored. When we shed, we do it precisely and selectively. When mom and pop wear white, we shed black and brown. If they wear black or brown, we shed white. That way they're always reminded of us, and everyone they see knows they have beautiful Beagle dogs at home waiting on them. That's us.

The sun is still out and I'm really tired, so I think I'll take a nap.

Sometimes I get so tired I can't even shut the computer down or put it away.

Trouble in Beagle paradise

I'm in big trouble today. Remember I told you Jade was on the green bean diet, and I thought mom and pop should be, too? Funny thing. Pop got a catalog in the mail.

I'm trying to look cute and use the big old brown-eyed Beagle look so pop will see I'm sincere in being sorry about ordering that catalog for him.  I'm not sure it's working.  My motto is to lift my leg, poop, throw up in the house or chew up a roll of toilet paper and then beg forgiveness rather than to ask permission first.  Isn't that what most humans do?  I don't really mess in the house, honest.  Well, not unless I am having gastrointestinal issues.  But most often that's only gas.  Whew, doggie.  What do they feed me?

It's called King Size for big and tall. When pop saw first saw it, I was sitting next to mom on the couch. Pop turned and looked at me and asked where did this come from? I played dumb, and just looked at mom as if to blame her. I don't know if pop was fooled or not but I'm hoping I threw him off the scent.

This is the offensive catalog.  I had to dig it out of the trash.  But trash is one of my doggie businesses, so I'm good at sniffing things out and finding them, although when something's in a trash compactor it's a little more difficult.

Of course, I expect I'll take some more heat when mom gets her catalog in the mail. I wonder if she'll take away my computer privileges. I can't do this by myself because my paws and toenails hit too many keys at one time, and I can't hit the shift button to make capitals. I may need your help, dear readers. Any takers?

Aaaaah, wonderful sunshine

Some days are just better than others, even in the life of a dog. We get fed twice a day, we get treats, we sleep as much as we want and our humans pet us and generally wait on us hand and foot. We go in, we go out, and back and forth.

Oliver was coming out the doggie door into the back yard.

Daisy is always a little timid about everything.  She's afraid of her own shadow.

Today was one that was filled with sunshine, warmth and fun. Pop let us out back again. He usually does most days and we run around to the front of the house, and then back again. Daisy doesn't do a lot of that, usually just once around, does her doggie business and goes back in the house. Jade runs around some, and Oliver and I run the most. But I see him go up on top of the snow pile by the fence. Today he put his feet over and was going to jump. I don't think he really understands even after a year how good he really has it here.

There he goes.  If Oliver does jump and go over, I'll just wave my paw at him.  Good riddance to the little pissant.

After we run, come in and get a treat, then it's time for a nap. Some of us just lay on the floor, some on the couch, and the special Bitchy Beagle lays in pop's lap. She doesn't share it very often with the rest of us.

Jade was sleeping hard on pop's lap.  She was draped all over him and snoring really loud.

Couch, Beagle bed or lap?

Sometimes humans are just plain silly. I lay around as do all of us here at the house. We all have places we prefer. Daisy likes to go upstairs to pop's room and get all nestled in the blankets. Oliver sleeps on the loveseat usually, but if pop's not in his chair he gets under the blanket and roots around until you can't see him or just sticks his pointy nose and beady eyes out. But that's only when Jade or I don't get into the chair first, although personally it's not my favorite place. I only like to get up there so someone else can't.

Sometimes you can't even find Oliver when he's all settled in under the blankets.  He just woke up.

Sometimes it's a revolving chair and lap around here. One gets up; one gets down, another gets up. I've seen Daisy tease Jade when she's sitting in pop's lap until Jade jumps down to snip at her. Then Daisy jumps up into pop's lap as much as to say, “ha ha, I got you out of pop's lap and now this spot is mine!”

Personally, I prefer to lay next to someone. They think it's because I want to be close to them. I do, but mostly I like to get between the arm of the couch and mom or pop because then they keep me warm. Got them so fooled. Humans are kind of easy that way, but not always so easy to train. I've been working on this for years.

Anyway, Jade has a kennel in the living room. Pop put it there after she had her back problems so she wouldn't try to jump up on things. There are two blankets in it and she goes in and roots around, then she faces out so no one can come in. If you even look at her sometimes when she's in there she growls at you. She's a silly girl.

Jade doesn't take up nearly as much room in a Beagle bed as she used too.  I could probably even squeeze in there too.

There are Beagle beds around the house, too. There's one upstairs, and two in the living room. Just the other day Jade was rooting around in the fleece-lined one and laid down. Mom said wow, that bed makes Jade look small. Pop said yeah, it does. It's a new bed and bigger than the other one. I got it while you were on vacation. Oh!!

Green bean diet.  Does it really work?

Jade is looking especially slim and trim these days. I think I mentioned that she has been on the green bean diet. When she was at the vet's, mom and pop were told to replace 1/3 of her food with green beans. So while mom was on vacation that's what pop did, and she slimmed right down. She's got a waist, some spring in her step and she can even jump really high now, although that is frowned upon as they don't want her to put her back out again.

When pop opens a can of green beans for Jade, he always give all of us one. We thought it was a real treat until I overheard him telling mom if there was a bad can of beans he wanted all of us to get sick, not just his precious Jade. Oh well. We all love green beans, and how often are you going to get a bad can of them?  I don't think I'd get sick anyway, probably just gas. I get that a lot. Secretly? I try to blame it on pop Sometimes it works.

See how nicely we can all behave when there's food involved?  From the top it's Oliver, Jade, Daisy and me.  Pop's the one with the container of green beans.  It's hard to see him because of all the camo clothing.

I've been watching mom and pop, though, in more recent years. I'm thinking they might want to consider going on the green bean diet! And that's all I have to say about that!

Working like a dog

I'm a hard-working, hard-playing, hard-sleeping kind of dog. When some other dog tries to keep me from the things I do best, I get a bit irritated. And usually I'm a very easy-going kind of Beagle. They call me Tuffy, but I don't usually have to show that side of my personality. I have to admit it may be coming soon.

There's a little pissant irritant in the house, and his name is Oliver. He seems to think he's going to take over things here, and I may have to step up and let him know that his number is four, fourth in line in this house. I don't care if he is a boy-Beagle. He's not the alpha-Beagle.

Does he really think he can take me?

Actually, I'm not the alpha-Beagle either. Jade is. And I have to admit she's looking rather good to me these days. I get along fine with her, but I'm starting to have thoughts other than she's just an old fatso who lays around waiting for papa to give her treats, or for something to fall to the floor. She's the quickest … kind of like a snake and you want to be careful not to get between her and food. I'm thinking maybe I'll make up to her a little more than I have in the past. She's looking mighty fine.

Yep she's looking mighty cute these days, and she's got some spring in her step so she's lots more fun to play with.

Anyway, though, I am the alpha-male-Beagle. I write the blog. For some reason Oliver has taken to working papa. He's always around him, sitting next to him, trying to get in his lap. And now he's taken to sitting in a chair next to the table while papa is on his computer. Papa has put one of his caps on him, and Oliver looks totally ridiculous. But he thinks he's hot stuff, and looks around as though to say he's a military dog, named after a famous military man. I say, so what?

Colonel Oliver North.  Ha!

Oliver pretends like he can read to impress pop, but I know he's just a "Great Pretender."

Then to make matters worse, papa let Oliver up on the table. That's just not right, and none of the rest of us have ever gotten to do that. And you know what he did then? He sat on pop's computer, as much as to say that my blog work is worth nothing.

Papa shouldn't let Oliver sit on the table or on his computer.  He'll be able to get up on the table and get food that the rest of us can't get.

I believe it's time to take that little doggie mix down a peg or two and let him know what a real Beagle is all about. That's me, and I can do it. I'm Tuffy and I'm tuff!!! And I'm taking over papa's recliner, too.

Fun in the Snow, March 6, 2012

Today was a great day. Although it didn't start out that way. I was laying in papa's chair and Daisy had to come over and get in it, too. She couldn't just lay next to me. No, she had to get on top of me. She's so inconsiderate sometimes. She ended up moving and hurting my leg. I yelped, it scared her and she ran off. She's such a wimp and a crybaby, too, when she doesn't get her own way. She got locked upstairs this morning, and she just cried and cried. Good grief. She needs to put on her big Beagle panties. Of course, mom always takes her side, “oh, poor Daisy.” She has mom wrapped around her paw. It's sickening sometimes.

See what I mean about her sitting on me?

Mom and pop let us go out in the back yard today. They really have to watch us because the snow is all the way up to the top of the fence now.

I think pop likes making trails for us.

Papa runs his snowblower and makes trails for us. If he didn't we'd get lost cuz it's not like we're real tall dogs. I think even a big dog like a Great Dane wouldn't fare so well with all the snow this year.

Look, the snow is clear up to the top of the fence.  And that's a 6-foot-high fence, too.  I could get over it if I really wanted to.  But I like it here and know I have a really good home. I am a Beagle, though, and have to at least acknowledge I could get out if I tried only a little bit.

This is papa's deer decoy in the backyard.  Mom likes it cuz it's like having a deer in the backyard.  I like it because I can lift my leg on it.  Oliver just goes and does it anywhere.  I like to show a little discretion and save myself for peeing on things that truly matter, like pop's deer decoy.  It's kind of hard to get to it right now, though, so I've had to settle for lesser items, like his ladder, but it will do in a pinch.

Papa was shoveling off the deck, and Oliver ran nearby as pop was throwing the snow and ended up getting a whole shovel of the white stuff tossed on him. I thought that was funny and laughed at him.

Even Old Fatso wanted to play in the snow.  Guess I shouldn't call her that anymore becaue she's lost weight and really looks good.  She even has a waistline now. 

This isn't a great photo, but you can see the action.  I'm running really fast, around and around the yard, ears and paws aflying.  It's really fun to run in the snow.  I'm really happy that pop clears trails for us, though.



Jade got out and ran around a lot which is good for her, getting some exercise.  We all had such a good time.



We all ran and ran and ran and chased each other. Then we got tired and came in. But mom wouldn't let us in the house. She makes us stay in the greenhouse so our feet will dry off before letting us inside. I guess I can understand that.

So now it's time for a nap.

Mom's coming home, March 1, 2012

Mom's trying to come home from Daytona. She's been gone a long time. Papa takes good care of us but he sometimes yells. I don't care cuz I'm tuff and Jade ignores him, but Daisy and Oliver don't like it. They get nervous because they're very sensitive. Imagine, sensitive beagles. Good grief. That just sounds stupid to me.

Papa ratted me out to mom over the phone the other day although he doesn't know it. He told her that someone had thrown up. It was me. I sometimes feel like I have a raw spot in my throat and so I go around and eat lint and dirt and leaves or twigs in the yard, and the carpet if I can to try to make it feel better. I have even eaten newspapers and plastic bags. Then I get an upset stomach and throw up all over, sometimes way more than they think I could even get down. Oliver does it too sometimes, but not as much as I do. Luckily for papa I just threw up this time. Sometimes I poop it out, too. They can always tell because there's been a part of a plastic bag. It's so disgusting, I know, but I'm just trying to make my tummy feel better.

I need to tell you about poop one day, but not today. I don't know you well enough yet, so I don't feel comfortable sharing that stuff. But then, I'll probably never meet or see most of you people, so does it really matter? Haha!! But today isn't the day, and you should feel lucky about that.

On Thursday, mom was still in Minneapolis trying to get a flight to Anchorage. She might not get home today either as the flights to Anchorage are overbooked. She'll come home eventually, I know, cuz she loves us. Wish she was here today, though, because it's her birthday and I wanted to give her a lick on the mouth.

While she was talking to pop, Oliver started barking by the window and got all excited. He got so excited he got caught in the window blind cord and then started screaming like a baby. Pop yelled at him and had to go get him out of it. Oliver is a pain in the butt. He's super-excitable and barks at everything, including his own shadow. He's like a military guy, always wanting his breakfast and dinner at exactly the same time each day, and wants our whole lives choreographed by the minute. Stupid! Maybe that's why he's called Colonel Oliver North. I just think it's all dumb and he should learn to relax.

We've got it really good here, kind of like Beagle heaven, but Oliver's just a little too intense for me. He's got beady eyes, too, and when he looks at you I think he tries to intimidate. Ha. That's not happening here. I'm the king of this dog pile and he'd better stay in his place. Besides, he's just a little, skinny thing with chicken legs, and I'm way bigger and stronger than he is. He better watch out.

Papa was gone for part of the day. He likes to go out to eat, sometimes breakfast, sometimes lunch. Today he went out for Taco Bell. We could all smell it on his breath. I know mom would have, too, if she'd been home. She always knows what he's eaten and he sometimes tell her she's got a nose better than any of us Beagles. I think that's pretty funny. She's a human. There's no way.

Mom's still gone, March 2, 2012

Mom's still in Minneapolis. Still trying to get home. I think papa misses her, but he never says it. He just says I told you it would be hard to get a flight, and why didn't you keep your meds with you? It's cuz she's not used to flying on passes and trying to think about the things going on at the time. She'll get better. I hope she gets home tonight, but I heard him tell her she'll get home for sure tomorrow (Saturday).

While I know she'll be home as soon as she can, I also know mom's missing things she had planned. She missed a big party with her motorcycle friends, and some type of tour over at the place where she used to work. She really wanted to do both of those. She's going to miss stuff tomorrow maybe, too. The Running of the Reindeer is part of Fur Rondy and she was going to do that for the first time.

I don't care what she misses. I just want her home. I love to sleep with mom because I keep her warm. I sleep right next to her heart and I can feel and hear it beating in my ear. Next to her heart is my special place and she doesn't let anyone else sleep there.

Mom's home, March 3, 2012

Mom's home, mom's home.

I really do need a nap.  Doing a blog is very tiring.

The girls 

I live with three other Beagles. When I first moved to South Anchorage there was Jade, who is also known as Bitchy Beagle, and that's not just by me, either. But I get along with her cuz I just tease her and get in her face. She hates that, and I love to do it and then just grin at her. Jade is called lots of things by our parents, Jader, Jader Gator, Gator Bait, Jadey Babe. She chooses to not answer to any of them. Well, actually, none of us answer to any names. We are Beagles, and very independent, so we need to keep up that appearance that we don't answer to anyone.

Anyway, Jade is the oldest now at 9, has back problems and just recently had an episode. She plays too hard, she's fat, and then she likes to roll over like a Ninja or something and come up on her feet. She's quite acrobatic that way and she'll face us all down, run and when we try to make a wall she just runs through us, runs full speed into the next room and back, rolls over, lands on her feet and just looks at us, ready to start again. It's fun, but I think she's hurt herself for the last time.

Jade.  She's actually thinner now because she's been on the green bean diet.

Papa is not letting us play hard now. Of course, sometimes I hurt my leg, too, and then I'm crippled up for a few days. He doesn't like it when that happens so he tries to stop us. Jade is papa's girl, and she doesn't share him with the rest of us too much. We sneak into his lap when she's sleeping in one of the Beagle beds around the house because she is getting hard of hearing, unless there's food being unwrapped or the refrigerator is being opened. She's such a typical Beagle in that way. Even hard of hearing Beagles have that knack of using selective hearing!

Jade had her teeth cleaned and was doing quite well after except mom fed her too much food. Lucky dog, that Jade. But she couldn't get it digested and ended up in the emergency room, where they made her vomit it up. Then she vomitted so hard she put her back out again and had to go back on meds. She was at emergency twice before they finally got her back on track. She's tough, that girl.

Daisy Mae was the young one at the time and is now 7. She's a real primadona (yeah maybe I don't spell so well), and mom's little princess. Sometimes she's just a pain in the butt. Mom think's Daisy does no wrong, but the tales I could tell you? And I will, you can count on that. Secretly? She sometimes pees in mom's bed and blames everyone else. I hope she doesn't read this. Who cares? She can't read and is just a pretty face, at least in her mind and mom's.

Daisy Mae. She doesn't like her photo being taken so she's got the old sad sack look.  Daisy has actually got the look perfected and uses it all the time.  She's a real princess in her mind.

Anyhow, Daisy is tall and slender, although she's heading to plump as most of our breed does as we age. But she's always been skinny and when mom first got her as a pup you'd have thought she'd come from a concentration camp because she was so thin you could count her ribs and she never did gain any weight, not for years. She's got a long, elegant neck and so she really does think she's a princess. And mom tells her that, too, and she kisses her on the tummy. Yuk. Mom doesn't think the rest of us hear it cuz she gets right into Daisy's ear. She forgets that we have great hearing, so I hear it when she says, “Daisy, you're momma's little Beagle angel and momma loves you best.” That hurts me, but I know she doesn't really mean that. She just says it because Daisy is really sensitive and gets her feelings hurt easily. Mom loves all of us.

The third girl that lived with us when I came here was Mickey. Mickey had really pretty ears, but she was always so sad. She had been abandoned by her family who also had kids. They just left her with someone and said “sell her.” Luckily for her, mom came along and got her. Now that's a funny story.

Mickey, beautiful ears and beautiful but sad eyes.

Mom had come to the Valley to look at me but my then-family never called her back. She saw another ad in the newspaper and thought it was me, so she called. Turns out it was a girl-dog, Mickey. Mom told the lady she wasn't coming to the Valley right away but would call when she did. She thought the phone number was a Valley number. The lady said she lived in Mountain View, which is part of Anchorage, so mom said she'd be right there So she ran out of work to go see her.and decided to bring Mickey home. Then a day later mom got the call on me, so she took me, too. That put us at a four-Beagle family, plus Maggie-terrier who was staying at the house because her parents were snowbirds and Biker Bill and mom let her live at their house during the winter. So, that made five, and quite a houseful.

Maggie Terrier

When Biker Bill would call home he'd ask how the kids were. The kids are us. Mom would say “they're all just fine.” After quite a long time, he finally caught on. Just before he came home, he asked, and she responded again with, “they're all just fine.” There was this very long pause. Then he asked, “By all, you mean Jade, Daisy and Maggie, right?” There was a “yes,” and another very long pause. Then, “and the other two Beagles.” More pauses. “There are four Beagles and a terrier?” “Yep.” He wasn't happy and threatened to not come home. But he did.

This is our papa, Biker Bill.  He likes his Detroit Redwings and watches hockey all the time.

But the reason mom had four of us was for a couple of reasons. Her boss at the time when she was working said there was a Beagle loose in the parking lot. She went out and caught him and then brought him home. She figured out from his responses that his name was Snoopy and she thought he was a really nice dog. But his owner claimed him and mom decided it would be fun to have three Beagles, or a herd as she liked to say. So when she went looking and found me, she accidentally got Mickey and took her, and then couldn't turn me away when they offered me to her. Thank you, Guardian Beagle. And voila! There was a herd of four. But it is fun to watch us when we run, or howl, or just act silly. But when papa came home, he wasn't real happy about it. He likes us, but mostly tolerates us, except for his little girl, Jade, who claimed papa as hers and who he really loves. But now and then I crawl up into his lap although I'm the biggest and he acts like he really likes me, too.

Anyway, Mickey was never happy like the rest of us. I really think she had a broken heart from being separated from her family in such a cruel way. In January 2010 mom wanted pictures of all of us because Jade was not doing real well and she was concerned that Jade might go to Beagle heaven. She had professional photos taken by David Jensen Pet-o-graphy and then two weeks later Mickey was gone. Mom said she wasn't quite herself one morning, then papa called her and it seemed Mickey had something called a stroke. She got rushed to the emergency room and there was just nothing they could do. In fact, the vet, Dr. Kunce of Dimond Animal Clinic, said mom could have a money tree in the back yard and it wouldn't have made a difference. Mom's friend Rebecca was with her because papa just couldn't be there. And then Mickey was gone.

Originally when Daisy came to the house there was Eric the Red, a red-colored Golden Retriever. When he had to go over the Rainbow Bridge, Daisy didn't know cuz she was still really young and she had a hard time getting over it and didn't understand why he didn't come home. She howled and howled and mom was so sad.

Daisy loved Eric the Red.

This time mom told Dr. Kunce what had happened and she told her to bring the rest of us over to see that Mickey had gone over the bridge. She did, and when we saw Mickey was gone, we were all okay and looked for food. There are always treats at the vet clinics, so we just sniffed around til we got some. Food fixes everything for us. Well, except for Jade who got sick from overeating. We'd all overeat if we were allowed to. Food rocks for Beagles.

So that brings us back to saying we're a four-Beagle house. Mickey was gone so that left us with only three of us. Maggie-terrier had also passed and wasn't staying with us anymore either. Then one day in the newspaper mom saw a Beagle that Friends of Pets was trying to place. She didn't say anything and papa, even though he didn't want any more dogs, asked her if she wanted to check on the dog and if he was available, get him for her birthday. Well, of course, mom would never say no to a Beagle, so she called. Turns out the dog is Oliver, or as papa calls him, Colonel Oliver North. They went to see him and then brought him home.

Colonel Oliver North.  He looks like he has this little mustache above his upper lip.

Oliver is not really a Beagle. He looks a lot like, acts somewhat like and has some nasty habits like a Beagle, but he's not one. He's a mix and they told mom they thought he had some Jack Russel Terrier in him. Mom thinks he has some Fox Terrier like Maggie who stayed with us because he acts a lot like Maggie. He eats papa's underwear, he runs away if he gets a chance because he's an idiot, and he's got this high squeaky voice that would peel paint off a wall. And he barks at everything, including his own shadow, and mine too. Idiot dog! But mom likes him even though he bit her once and scratched her when she tried to catch him when he ran away, and so she kept him. Of course, he's not the only one who bit mom. Bitchy Beagle did it once too, but she didn't really mean to. She meant to bite me, but mom's leg got in the way and she got her instead. Mom got this really big black and blue mark on her leg with little tooth marks, but it didn't break the skin. Mom even took a picture of it to show papa. It was pretty funny cuz Jade got in trouble.

Mom's really had problems with Oliver, though. She said he's the worst one to come through the house. He's peed, pooped, and eaten things. But mom knows her precious princess, Daisy, chews things too. But she always forgives her.

So now you know who we all are.