The Walk

"Want to go for a walk?" Silly question, of course they want to go for a walk. What I should be asking is, do I dare take them on a walk. It's just not as simple as most people would think. Sure, hook the leash on the well behaved dog who is patiently waiting, then he walks by your side without the slightest tug. Well, this is how it really is. Knowing what the answer is going to be before I even ask, you see, they know when I'm putting on my walking shoes, then they see the leashes. Already the barking has started, but I ask anyway, "Want to go on a walk?"

Oh yeah, they want to go alright! Oskar grabs the leash as I'm trying to hook it onto his collar and starts to pull in a tug of war sort of way. Archie is baying loudly and Jimmy is hopping around. I finally get the leash on Oskar and as I start hooking Jimmy's, Oskar grabs Jimmy's leash and begins pulling him. Archie is still baying loudly. Now it's Archie's turn, As I'm trying to hook his leash onto his collar, Jimmy and Oskar start leaving without us while Archie continues to bay..... loudly. I call the other two dogs back, pick up their leashes and Oksar starts in with his tug of war again. I'm trying to get the crazed dog to come along but he keeps pulling on the leash with his teeth while shaking his head. Archie is still baying loudly and Jimmy is getting all tangled up. This carries on for the first 5 minutes as I'm trying to walk, Oskar tugging Archie baying and Jimmy getting tangled. Did I mention Missy comes along? Can't leave her behind, she likes to run ahead and chase birds, which makes Oskar want to run too. He quits tugging and starts choking. He some how manages to make the weirdest strangling sounds. They're very indescribable, but he sounds like he's dying and gasping for his last breath. Archie is still baying....loudly. Then I notice our cat is following us. I swear it's like a three ring circus. All I want to do is go for a nice walk and I get a strangling dog whose hacking and coughing, a baying Beagle whose voice carries into the next canyon, and a cat that's tagging behind. Seriously, if I actually want to get some miles in, I have to sneak out of the house without the little dogs seeing me put on my walking shoes and holding a leash. Then, if I'm lucky enough to accomplish that, I'll take Missy and go for my walk...The only thing is, I still have to keep a watchful eye out for the cat....

Kids and Cats

Ever wonder if kids and cats have the same personality? Think about it, kittens are the cutest thing. They love to romp and play, they get into everything, they're curious, love to cuddle and crave attention. Now relate that to a small child. Wondering where I'm going with this? Lets move on, now the cute curious kitten has grown into a cat. It no longer craves attention and will act put out if given any, sleeps all day and is out all night, comes home only to eat and lay around before it wants out again.....Hmmmm, sounding familiar - perhaps something that of a teenage child/young adult. I don't know but it seems to me that the human child and the feline are closer than one could have thought possible.

Gluttony

The thing with Beagles is, they have no limit as to what they think they can consume when it comes to food. Everything I've read about Beagles always comes back to the same, "Beagles can be possessive with their food, they don't care if they are eating gourmet food or garbage, a Beagle will eat everything indiscriminately." What I've learned from having a Beagle first hand, everything I've read has proven to be true. Not only does Archie inhale his food similar to a shark in a feeding frenzy, his main focus in life is all about when he's going to eat next. His nose his constantly sniffing the ground looking for that last little of morsel of food, actually it doesn't have to be food. Archie will eat anything and everything. The husband gave his Beagle a little stuffed duck that quacks if squeezed. Archie plunged at the toy and started to devour it, ripping his legs off and swallowing them. Quack, quack says's the duck as Archie tears into his wings with the same vigorous motion as he did with the legs. Gone now is the beak, the dog is ingesting a stuffed toy, I truly believe if he could, he would swallow the duck whole. I can't stand watching this any longer, the poor little mallard meant to be a toy, is now being ripped and torn for only one purpose, to be eaten. I finally had to take the toy from him but that didn't stop him from wanting it. Some dogs who gets the taste of blood, whether it comes from chasing a chicken, goat, rodent or anything they can run after, never loses that urge for another one. This behavior in dogs can cause riffs between neighbors that have chickens or livestock. Archie's basic instinct kicked in with the taste of polyester stuffing. I hope my neighbors don't have any stuffed animals laying around. It's not as if he wanted his toy back for the sake of having it, he acted as if I took away his prize bone layered with meat. He kept sniffing the ground in circles, looking at me, sniffing some more. I decided to distract him by putting him outside for a minute, that took his mind off the duck but he sniffed around until he found some left over kiblets of food Missy had dropped. Yes, Beagles have wonderful qualities that make them the perfect family dog, they are outgoing and tolerant, energetic and friendly, and insanely optimistic with a tail that keeps wagging, even when they're sleeping. The only requirement a Beagle expects from his family, is not being late when it comes to his dinner!

The Pilot

The husband has learned to fly, which hasen't been easy especially with his busy schedule, but as the old saying goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way" and he has found a way. He has been getting up in the wee hours of the morning, when the rest of the world is still snuggled up to their pillows, to pilot his plane.

Being that I am not a morning person, he demonstrated his flying skills in the evening. The family and I went out to watch him and I was very impressed.

Not only has he become a pilot, but he has learned the mechanic's of his plane. He does all the repair work himself to make sure his plane is in tip top flying condition.

Way to go husband, we are so proud of you!