A BEAGLER'S LIFE

The following article was featured in the August 2020 issue of

THE RABBIT HUNTER

magazine

and is

presented here for your reading pleasure.

From the Allegheny Plateau and the Wilds of Of Pennsylvania

 A BEAGLER’S LIFE

Written

by

Joe Ewing

Photography by

Brenda & Joe Ewing

 

 The “Three Amigos”. From L-R, Aero, Hollie and Shadow.

 

Beagling is my life. My life revolves around my beagles. Those who know will understand the beagling lifestyle, whether it’s hunting, trialing, companionship or all of the above. It’s an all-consuming passion virtually to the point of obsession, if not addiction. I’ve been blessed with this compulsion for more than fifty years.

I would like to quote the late John Yates, founder of the American Sporting Dog Alliance, “My life is filled with love and joy and beauty, and I owe most of it to my dogs.”

I have the utmost respect for sportsmen who work with dogs. Anyone who owns hounds has my complete esteem. I hold deep admiration for those houndsmen who own and hunt with hounds. I appreciate just how much dedication it takes to become a true houndsmen. Hunting with dogs is never easy and hounds are forever challenging, nevertheless hunting with hounds is eternally a labor of love and passion.

It doesn’t matter what season, at the conclusion a beagler cannot simply stash his beagle in the closet, lock the dog away in the beagle-safe or forget it forever on the couch in the corner. Beaglers don’t ignore the hound and they don’t cease thinking about it until the eve before the next season. When the season ends this is where true dedication begins. 

Many accomplished beaglers choose to replenish their packs by buying puppies, started beagles or fully trained dogs. I’ve exploited all of the above methods over the years. I’ve bought puppies, I’ve purchased started dogs and I’ve bought “finished” dogs. I’ve had puppies given to me and I’ve traded dogs. These methods all work to varying degrees. The most satisfying to me is seeing a puppy turn into a skillful hare and rabbit chaser.

A tenacious rabbit dog whelped in my kennel by my favorite hare hound which was also whelped in my kennel is the most rewarding of all. What could possibly be more rewarding than witnessing a puppy, who took its first breath in my kennel, transforming into a fantastic hare and rabbit hound? Every success along the path is a welcome and thrilling stage of development. Occasionally, accompanying these great rewards comes anguish and grief.

Just when I think I have everything down pat and I’m getting a little cocky, I get smacked up alongside the head and this lifestyle doesn’t feel so good. When misfortune strikes, it strikes with a vengeance. Misfortune is hard to swallow sometimes, but it’s swallowed, always with a lump deep in the throat. Many times, misfortune causes a feeling of nausea deep in the guts.

Many beaglers write about the good side of beagling, especially, about all of the great hounds they’ve owned. Every hunt is a glorious day with ribbons, trophies and tailgates lined with the day’s kill to prove it.

 

Just a small sample of Dan Brinsky’s trophy collection. Dan is the former owner of the late Run-Em-Over-Tank.

 

Misfortune is defined as a simple case of “bad luck”. Others define misfortune as, “referring to an event or circumstance that is hard to bear and beyond one’s control.” “Affliction”, another synonym, suggests misfortune that causes great suffering. Seldom is misfortune mentioned in the pages of beagling magazines.

 

We all recognize beagles as long-lived, with a life span of twelve to fifteen years and are mostly healthy. Beagles have few hip or back problems and are not prone to those disorders. Epilepsy, once a problem with beagles, appears to have been reduced in frequency due to responsible breeding. Beagles are vulnerable to eye disorders which include glaucoma, cataracts and “cherry eye”. Dogs that live and work outdoors require special considerations for the climate they inhabit. Working dogs are exposed to fleas, ticks, mites, cold and wind, and porcupines just to name a few of the thousands of hazards.

 

Several porcupine quills, picked up during a chase, required extraction from “Pysco Sid” on a recent outing to the field.

I once believed porcupines were the worst menace anyone could face. I’ve pulled thousands of quills and the porcupine is one of my most despised adversaries. I can’t stress enough how much I hate porcupines.

Several years ago, a litter of puppies was whelped in my kennel containing four females and two males. I was lucky to be given such a beautiful litter of potential hare hounds. The new litter was out of Branko’s High Plateau Duggan and Iron Mountain Tia. Their linage included Branko’s One-Tuff-Hombre, former world large pack champion, just to drop a name. I kept three females and the remaining puppies were presented to beagling friends as appreciative gifts.

Iron Mountain Tia and litter, 2012. 

I named my three puppies, Shadow, Hollie and my granddaughter named the third one, Aeropostale Aero, Aero for short. Everything went great for two years. The “Three Amigos” were coming along towards being respectable rabbit dawgs with Shadow showing signs of being the best of the three.

·                     May 18, 2020 THE NEW YORK TIMES By James Gorman A New Viral Outbreak Is Killing Rabbits This virus is deadly, long-lived and highly contagious, but it doesn’t affect people or other animals. It is not a corona virus. The illness is caused by Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus type 2 and does not affect humans or other animals, only rabbits, hares and perhaps pikas, a rabbit-like animal, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is the first outbreak of the virus in wild rabbits in North America, but there have been other, smaller outbreaks among domestic rabbits in Ohio, Washington and New York, and in feral rabbits in Canada.   “We hear rumors of underground rabbit transport, and there are folks that do import rabbits from Europe,” Dr. Zimmerman said. “So, our concern is that somebody brought them in, they were carrying the virus during transport. If one of them died, they pitched it out and boom, we infect the wild rabbits and away we go.”

One morning, I found Shadow in distress with her face swollen like a giant balloon. I immediately started her on antibiotics which reduced the swelling considerably. There was no swelling inside Shadow’s mouth and I was pretty sure it was not anallergy. After a week of antibiotics Shadow was still lethargic and I could feel lumps in her neck. Off to the veterinarian we went. A thorough examination was performed with the Vet’s diagnosis being a word not found in my modest vocabulary, “lymphoma”.

The veterinarian stressed there was no cure. “No cure” didn’t immediately register in my inadequate brain. Not what I wanted to hear for sure. He informed me a biopsy could be performed and if the biopsy proved positive for cancer chemotherapy would be the treatment with no guarantee of remission. Sometimes surgery or radiation therapy may be recommended. He declared that he was 95% positive his diagnosis was correct and I took him at his word and Shadow was euthanized that day.

The day I walked into the vet’s office I’d never heard of “lymphoma” and I assuredly couldn’t spell the word. Since that day I’ve studied the subject and now, at least I can spell lymphoma.

Lymphoma is the most common type of cancer in dogs. There it is, the dreaded “C” word. Canine lymphomas, there are 30 types, are similar to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in humans. There is no cure in dogs but remission is possible.

The first symptom that dogs with multicentric lymphoma, the most common type, usually show is swollen lymph nodes. It’s common for dogs with lymphoma to have lymph nodes 3-to-10 times their normal size. These swellings are not painful and feel like a firm, rubbery lump that moves freely beneath the skin. Dogs with multicentric lymphoma may also develop lethargy, fever, lack of appetite, weakness, swelling of the face or legs. Increased thirst and urination and dehydration may develop.

Lymphoma is diagnosed by performing a “biopsy” which is a minor surgical procedure. A piece of lymph node or another organ affected is removed and viewed under a microscope.

The treatment therapy proven most effective for canine lymphoma is chemotherapy. Most dogs with lymphoma will have a relapse at some point. Lymphoma becomes more resistant to chemotherapy over time. Most lymphomas develop resistance to all chemotherapy drugs and dogs with this disease die or are euthanized when the cancer can no longer be controlled with chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, scientists don’t know what causes lymphoma in dogs but, they do register several theories which range from viruses, bacteria, chemical exposure and physical factors such as strong magnetic fields or other environmental factors. Another supposed cause is genetics. The bottom line, the cause of this cancer remains unclear and I mistakenly assumed science knew everything.

Let's stipulate, just for argument sake, we’re certain Roundup® is the culprit. I don’t use Roundup or any chemicals on my lawn, however, the TRUGREEN® man shows up at my neighbors four times a year like clockwork. My kennel is surrounded on two sides by farmland and we all know what the farmer sprays on his GMO soy beans, corn and other crops, Roundup®.

Here is the other kicker; just this past spring (2020) Hollie, Shadow’s sister, lost her litter. Hollie was to the veterinarian for a pre-whelping checkup with x-rays showing four puppies ready for delivery in a few weeks. When the day arrived one puppy was whelped but then nothing. Labor was at a standstill so off to the vet we raced. The vet couldn’t induce labor so cesarian (“C”) section was performed. While Hollie was in surgery her first born puppy was active and healthy.

Hollie’s three remaining puppies could not be saved. The vet reported one of the puppies was “blue” signifying lack of oxygen caused by not being whelped and the other two had puss in their amniotic sacs. Where the infection came from remains a mystery. In a weeks’ time Hollie’s only remaining puppy died from unknown causes and remains another unexplained mystery.

This spring (2020) misfortune struck one more time. Shadow and Hollie’s litter mate, Aero, was diagnosed with kidney failure due to Lyme Disease and was euthanized. Aero gave me and others some wonderful puppies from the one litter she whelped. She was also a brave and fearless hare hound. The pack and I will miss her very much.

On the brighter side; Aero left me with a very determined female hare hound named Muzette Mountain Music. I know Music will take over where her mother left off. I’m going to breed Music and make some great hare hounds. I know I can and I know I shall. I’m not giving up!

Hollie on the hunt.