Last week I sent out an e-mail blast introducing BEAGLE MAN to friends and family. Now since the author photo (above) happens to show Ricky and me peering out of the driver seat of my Jeep Wrangler, and since I happened to mention that Ricky often rides shotgun in my Jeep in my most recent post, I received this e-mail response from my old friend Cathy, from Easton: “The timing of this is too funny. Yesterday a friend told me his beagle, Jeep, appears in the latest Orvis ‘pets’ catalog. Maybe we could introduce them . . .” (Please see photo, right.)
Now the fact that Jeep appears in the catalogue is not really that big of a coincidence: His “dad” works in Orvis corporate, and got him the gig. What struck me, though, was the “jacket with built-in harness” that Jeep is modeling on the page. My dog has that same harness! It was recommended to me a few years ago by my friend Susan when I told her I was nervous that Ricky might spot a deer or a squirrel or a cheeseburger and be tempted to leap out of my no-top, no-windows vehicle while I was driving. Of course, Ricky kicked up a fuss about being stuffed into the harness, and needless to say, I caved instantly. My solution was to leave in the one plastic window that serves Ricky’s passenger seat, and which would act as a safety barrier for him, even though my preference would be to drive completely window-free. Yet another example of adapting the way I do things instead of actually making an attempt to train my dog.
A reader commented on a recent post (“My First Dog Was a Beagle”) that there’s one word for my relationship with Ricky: Demented. Hmmm. Now why would he say that . . .
My Beagle mix loves car rides.I only have to say “ride” (or spell it)-and she gets all crazy.My car is perfectly suited to her.Her feet go on the armrest,and head goes out the window.The height is perfect-as her body from shoulders down is inside the car-so she can’t fall out.Her nose twitching like a rabbit,ears flapping,she doesn’t care at all how cold it is.She’ll duck inside when it gets too much,or if I go on the highway.But even then she’ll point the tip of her nose out the window while sitting on the seat.It’s all about the smells to a Beagle….
I think it’s the motion, too. Ricky’s favorite place to be is in the car. If it came to a nice juicy bite of hamburger or a ride in my Jeep, it would actually give him pause. We can drive to Vermont, Montauk, Philadelphia . . . he’s snoring and happy the whole way. Sometimes when he gets a little nuts (his epilepsy causes these strange interludes), there’s nothing like a ride in the car to settle him down. We used to do the same thing with our three sons when they were little . . .