Beagle Paws Rescue Stories

It was a warm, sunny morning last summer and I was doing my regular dog-walking rounds at the Yarmouth SPCA, when I heard a soulful howl that could only come from the vocal cords of a beagle. There was a momentary lull in the usual canine cacophony as all the dogs paused and looked questioningly around. Who was the new tenant? Quickly, I peeked around the corner of the shelter to scan the runs. My eyes immediately focussed on a long, white throat and a nose pointed to the sky. It was the most beautiful tri-colour beagle I had seen in some time! The job at hand dragged me away, but I couldn’t forget that sound. As I always spend most of my time with the longtime residents at the shelter, it was several days before I actually took this little guy out for a walk. However, I took a peek at him each time I visited and was rewarded with that same melodious howl. When I first visited his kennel, I noticed the large shaved area on his back and hoped that it was a “skin condition”, but knew that it probably wasn’t.

Not long after, I learned the very sad story of this young dog. He had been found by an RCMP officer tied tightly to a tree with electrical wire - his back up against the tree, the coating worn off the wire, and some nasty ulcers on his mid-back! He was taken to the Yarmouth SPCA and, from there, to a local vet where his wounds were tended. Had he not been rescued when he was, he surely would have died against that tree.

I volunteered to foster this beagle, as he was quite stressed in his cage. When the Canadian Food Inspection Agency came to our shelter looking for good “sniffers” to work for them, my husband and I adopted him right away, knowing that he would make an unsuitable work dog. He had entered our hearts as soon as we first saw him and we wouldn’t part with him now for anything. In the beginning, he cowered in corners waiting to be kicked, practically dropped to the floor when we raised our voices, and squeezed his eyes shut bracing himself for a blow when we raised our arms or hands. He had never eaten real dog food or been exposed to normal household items such as TVs or furniture. Now all of that is history, although he still suffers from extreme separation anxiety. He is as gentle, kind, and unselfish an animal as you could ever find. We have named him Precious because that is exactly what he is.

Jayne Hiscock, Nova Scotia