Posted by
Roxanna M. on Sunday, February 10, 2008 9:53:20 AM
About a year and a half ago, my husband and I were adopted by an abandoned beagle who followed me home from my morning walk. I had seen her before and thought that where I had seen her was where she lived. That was not the case. I was told by one of the neighbors that her previous owners had just turned her loose because she was too much for them to handle. She had been homeless since she was a puppy, taking up residence wherever she could for as long as she could. Given the fact that we live where the mountain lions and coyotes roam, and where people drive way too fast, the fact that she survived is amazing in and of itself.
Little Girl is without question the sweetest animal on the planet. I have had animals - dogs and cats - all my life, and I have never had an animal that just loves the way this dog does. I sit on the floor to read the morning paper, and she'll come over to me and just rest her head on my shoulder. She follows my husband everywhere and often can be found whining outside the bedroom door when he has stayed in bed past when the Beagle thinks he should have been up and about.
When my husband is gone during the day, she arbitrarily sets up a time when she thinks he should have already been home and begins her vigil on the couch, looking out the window, waiting to see his truck come down the driveway. When she gets impatient, she begins baying, the unmistakable sound of a hound. When we've both been gone, it takes about an hour from when we walk through the door for her to calm down.
Having gone through our closets recently to rid ourselves of the excess there, we were stuffing the clothes into trash bags for donation to our local volunteer fire department, which has a pancake breakfast and rummage sale every three months. Of course, the Beagle was helping.
Somewhere during the event, she saw the "other" beagle in the mirror. Excitement doesn't even begin to describe it. She would look in the mirror, head down, butt up, tail wagging furiously. After awhile, she would run around in circles just to come back to the mirror, head down, etc. At some point in time, she decided to actually touch the other dog, only to come up against the hard, cold surface of the mirror. She then decided that the other dog was unfriendly and went on to other things.
Little Girl came to us at a time of great personal tragedy, and we have always considered her our Heaven-sent beagle. That's the only explanation I can think of that would explain why this little dog, without knowing what awaited her, would follow me for over a mile.
At some point since her arrival, she took over. My husband and I are no long in charge and, perhaps, it's better that way.