Rusty (Beagle)

 Rusty was my Beagle, and even though we didn't have Rusty for as long as most of our other dogs, I still loved him. Of course, I loved pretty much all my pets, especially my dogs. The only pet I can safely say I didn't care too much about was my second hamster, Mitch (see my post about my 2 hamsters for more on Mitch). Anyway, this post is about Rusty, not Mitch. Like all of our dogs, we got Rusty as a puppy, and let me tell you, Beagle puppies are one of the most adorable puppies ever! All puppies are cute, of course, but there are some breeds that are just the epitome of adorableness as puppies, and Beagle puppies are one of them. 

Beagles are generally a very friendly, happy-go-lucky breed. They also happen to be one of the healthiest purebred dogs out there, and by that, I mean that they have very few genetic health issues, if any at all. The main thing you have to worry about with Beagles is that they are hound dogs. What do I mean by that? Well, hound dogs are bred for hunting, which means that they have a very enhanced sense of smell. I know, you're about to say that all dogs have a very well-developed sense of smell, but hound dog breeds are among the elite when it comes to tracking. Why is this cause for concern, you might ask? Well, for two reasons: Number one, they tend to follow where their nose takes them. Number two, their enhanced tracking abilities tend to make them super stubborn. In other words, once they start following a scent, they will keep following it until they reach its source. 

Still not convinced that this can be cause for worry? Well, what if the source of the scent they are tracking happens to be a venomous snake? Yup, that's how we lost Rusty, to a venomous snake bite, specifically to the venomous bite of a cottonmouth (AKA, the water moccasin). Sure, we could have taken him to the vet for a dose of antivenom when it happened, and he might have been okay. The only problem was that we were not home when it happened, and by the time we got home and found him, it was already too late. 

For this reason, if you're considering adopting a Beagle (or almost any scent hound, for that matter), you should either make them an indoor dog, or have a good fence around your yard that is effective enough at preventing escape. Because if they escape your yard while tracking a scent, they will not stop until they find what they're tracking, and you could possibly end up losing them...or worse. Yes, take my word for it: if you have a Beagle, steps need to be taken to control/prevent their tendency to wander off.