In my lifetime I have owned two beagles, both high energy and determined once they were on the trail of something. Actually, that could be just about anything. They just love to pick up a scent and go with it. At that point, you might as well forget their responding to your commands. They are off and running. And they love the challenge.

My son recently shared with me an episode on Facebook of a Beagle dashing about on a soccer field while the game was being played. The players were chasing all over trying to catch it; but Beagles are fast, and they enjoy a good romp as much as any breed.

Beagles also are great escape artists and can get out of a fenced in yard quicker than you can say scat.

We once had a 13-inch Beagle named Belle. We lived in a small town in Ohio where my first husband was the editor of the newspaper. Everyone in town knew Belle and where she came from, so we often received calls from storekeepers telling us the dog was racing down the aisles of the grocery store, or any number of businesses.

Once, my husband received a call from the local police department telling him that our Beagle had truck traffic on US Rt. 30 through town at a complete standstill, as Belle was busy checking out something dead in the middle of the intersection. As my husband approached to try and capture her, she began to come to him.  All the trucks started to move, only to come to screeching halts again as Belle decided to go back for one more sniff.

Well, we are finding out that hound dogs have much the same dispositions. We have a dog we adopted from the local shelter, identified simply as “Hound.” We took her home at about 8 weeks old and she is now 18 months. Her full name is Arabella, but we call her Bella. She is one super bundle of energy. Even though she knows her commands— she can sit, get down, roll over and once in a while stay on command if a treat is involved—she bolts out the door as soon as it is opened and runs like a deer.

In spite of our calling, she chooses not to hear and takes off for parts unknown.

That is when we have to get in the car and drive slowly around the neighborhood looking for her. When she sees our car she recognizes who her owners are and comes running. Unfortunately, she has usually been rolling in something foul and the whole car reeks. She gets scolded for running away and knows when she has been bad. She runs into the house and straight into her cage. She lies down looking all repentant, but we know she will do it again the next chance she gets.