* * *COUNTDOWN: 77 DAYS TO LA/XC-6 * * * You thought my days of cross-country-road-tripping-with-dog were finished, right? Me too. The fifth and final journey — or so I assumed at the time — was LA/XC-5, back in the fall of 2016.  I figured it was a wrap after that one, for a bunch of reasons.  1…

I heard Matt ask Beagle Man last weekend if he was throwing a beach birthday party for me next month — and Beagle Man said probably not.  That would be two years straight with no party!  All because Mom made fun of him for spending days and days planning and preparing and inviting everyone he saw…

I have to tell you about the new girl who moved in next door.  Her name is Grace, and she’s really, really good looking.  She’s a Vizsla.  I’ve always liked Vizslas.  She has a short, super-smooth coat, and a great tan.  And we’re the same age — we’re both turning five next month.  All right, I’m…

Big dogs and little dogs. Black and white dogs. Don’t get too wet, black-and-white dog! Four dogs down in the water. One dog up on a paddle board. Dogs at work. Work, dogs, work! Dogs at play.   Play, dogs, play! There they go. Look at those dogs go! What are they going to do? Where are those do…

Beagle Man started making fun of me with his “duck” jokes back in April of 2015, when I was just an 8-month-old pup.  It was during my first cross-country road trip, and we’d stopped for a walk through the grounds of the Marin County Civic Center.  The park was kind of fancy, with DOGS MUST BE LEAS…

You all remember, Joe, right?  Beagle Man’s friend who’s not, um, all that crazy about dogs? (You can take a look at what Ricky the Beagle wrote about him in “The Odd Couple.”)  So what Joe’s been up to lately doesn’t really surprise me.  But his wife, Pam — who I thought was my friend?  Who loves…

Beagle Man and Kemba:  A grown man using a poor little dog as an excuse for his own outdoors/exercise fetish.  Why am I not surprised?  In my days with the B-Man, he used to drag me out all the time, too — whether I wanted to go or not.  Sure, I enjoyed chasing the odd squirrel on a sunny spring mo…

For whatever masochistic reason, I find myself from time to time thinking morbid thoughts about how I’ll feel when Kemba, you know . . . reaches his time.  That is, if I’m still around.  (At my age, not a slam-dunk.)  I further torture myself by going back to when our beloved Ricky the Beagle died…