by Jan Fielden
Our Beagles are our “watch dogs” because if anyone or anything strange comes near the house, they immediately start barking for all they are worth! Nothing gets by them even if they appear to be sleeping. I knew Beagles had the ability to find things by smelling them out, but I didn’t realize if they were asleep they could do it. And, when they are awakened, they certainly can because the smell is what wakes them up.
The other night, at twilight, they both, MO MIGHTY and Tasha were sound asleep on the patio. Suddenly they both jumped up and went running to the back-yard gate. I thought some calves or cows had come up to the gate…these two Beagles don’t like the cows either. But it was not bovines…it was an armadillo running the back-yard fence. He/she was on the pasture side of the fence and not the house side which might have saved his/her/or Beagles lives. They immediately were at the back gate running up and down the fence line chasing the armadillo. Everyone was running one way and then turning to run back the other way. Then the armadillo took off down the pasture way, but the Beagles kept up their barking to chase it away.
Even when the armadillo was totally gone the Beagles kept a wary eye on the fence area and every once in a while would venture out to the fence line just to make certain there was nothing there they needed to alert us too. It is nice to know that we have “watch dogs” on duty at the Red Oak Ranch.
