Best in Show!!

Beagles!!! If you happened to see the Westminster dog show this year or listened to any newscast last week, you know that the beloved beagle won.  Now everyone wants one!!  I can list 83 reasons why you don't!  But even with all of her downfalls, I love my beagle! She will turn 10 this summer and like every pooch that owns a human, she has a distinct personality.  We became her people when she was almost 4 and her previous people had to move out of town to an apartment not allowing pets.  I thought she was a bit overweight then and the vet assured us that he could feel her ribs so she was just stocky.  She is really "stocky" now.  We have a couple of names for her like beagle butt or beaglet like "piglet", but from her glares at times she probably has a few for us too.  Unlike some beagles, she doesn't dig and is much too weighty to jump over a fence, not to mention her lack of motivation.  She has never been typical in the energy level that other beagles display.  She spends every day laying in the sunbeams that pour through the southerly windows in the winter and in the summer, she lies in the sundrenched backyard.  However, very much a beagle in the "nose" department, we have spent a good deal of time searching for her in the forest as we camp out.  She didn't hesitate to investigate a skunk, we lost her in the water when she disappeared into a hole beneath a tree and eventually swam out several feet downstream, she discovered "wonderful animal entrails" left by more persnickety critters and the adventures go on and on.  Then there is the unmistakable bark.  She will occasionally "bay" if she encounters a particularly interesting scent, but mostly she just barks and it can be irritating.  She loves the water and the cat's litter box.

Just a few reasons that you don't want a beagle...but they do love their humans with unconditional love and I shall miss her when I have to say "goodbye."