Beagle Paws Rescue Stories

Home | About Us | News | Contact Us

Beagles are Pets Too!

Beagles for Adoption

Successful Adoptions

What could be better than owning a beagle?
Abigail's Story
By Jayne Hiscock

Well, owning two of course, as we discovered this past winter when we adopted Abigail from our local shelter! It has been quite an experience and not exactly what we had expected. Most notably, we have learned that beagles have their own way of playing and expressing their feelings to each other. Our morning begins with Precious, our first beagle, dragging Abigail, very much his sweetheart, all around the perimeter of our apartment by the scruff of her neck. This is followed by general mayhem as halters are strapped on and leashes attached for the morning outing. They are beside themselves with excitement each day, even though we always follow the same route. Abigail barks at the empty doghouse on the corner and at the Veterinary clinic, and both dogs erupt in true hound style when deer scent is picked up in the cemetery!

Abigail (left) and Precious (right)

Following their walk is breakfast – which lasts all of about one minute, biscuit included – and finally comes playtime. This activity has taken considerable adjustment on our part, as we initially thought the two dogs were fighting! I even began chasing them around with a spray bottle trying to break them up. I discontinued this after squirting myself in the face in my haste one too many times! If you have never seen beagles play, it goes something like this. First comes the “chase” to get warmed up (usually with one latched on to the other’s neck). They will run the length of the apartment, stop suddenly, and remain motionless nose-to-nose (whiskers twitching and lips curling!), waiting to see who will initiate the return dash. For variety, Precious will sometimes drive his head underneath Abby’s ribs and “carry” her across the room sideways on his nose! Then there is what I call the “bucking bronco” stage where they behave like wild horses, up on their rear legs dueling it out with heads and teeth banging together. At this point Abigail will often get overexcited and begin flying about at lightning speed. She ends up underneath a chair teasing him from a safe vantage point. The whole event elevates to a final frenzied rush and then complete silence … except perhaps for the sound of panting.

The rest of the day is spent sleeping together, nuzzling, checking out each other’s ears, and the like. We are guessing that beagles must be genetically designed to assume the same sleeping positions as their companions – either identical ones or mirror images – as this is what ours invariably do. When things get boring, Abigail begins listening for sounds from outdoors. Anything promising and she will glance at Precious as if to say “Come on! Let’s check this out!” and off they race to the window, shoulder to shoulder. My Precious never learned the proper way to bark, but he tries desperately to make noise now to compete with Abigail, an accomplished vocalist. Unfortunately, the sound he produces is more of a wail and reminds me of a singer warming up with a series of rising and falling glissandos! They produce a very odd duet together – something quite appropriate for a horror movie.

At the end of the day comes another walk. Sometimes, when he is feeling particularly bold, my husband will harness the two dogs together in their coupler and take them himself. As the three of them burst through the front door into the driveway, he likens himself to Ben Hur aboard his horse-drawn chariot! A walk on the coupler is quite exhilarating for participants and spectators alike.
So goes a joy-filled day in the life of my two beagles. When they finally fall blissfully asleep in my lap in front of the TV each evening, I often wonder if three beagles would create three times the fun …?!

Back