Martha and Dave have three dogs, but this article is about their eleven-year-old Beagle, Dexter.
Last summer, Dexter scared them! It was a hot day and he was chasing his tennis ball when he collapsed with a seizure. They rushed him to the emergency veterinary clinic and $1300 later, they were not given a reason why the seizures happened. The health scare may have been a heat stroke from overplay and dehydration. People assume that only humans are susceptible to heat strokes, but so are cats and dogs.
“The incident freaked me out,” said Martha. “So, now, when he is outside playing and starts to pant a little bit, I stop throwing his ball for him and guide him into the house. On his way, he has to stop and smell the grass where one of the other dogs just peed; plus, he has to sniff the tree where the squirrels play, then he has to stop to get a drink of water from the fountain in the front yard. Of course, he has to double check that I put his tennis ball on the table on the front porch.
Then finally, he may need to go back to the grass and pee one more time before he meanders inside the front door.
So, because of the whole seizure occurrence, I now watch him a bit too closely. Like the time he was sitting in the kitchen, not moving, just staring up at the ceiling—I thought the worst! Before I totally panicked, I looked up at the ceiling too. Nothing! Not a fly, not a spider, not even a cobweb! So, then, I looked down to the kitchen counter and saw a candle, keys, some cheese crackers, a glass, a magazine—back to those cheese crackers!
The word Beagle is just another word for ‘nose’ and Dexter’s had caught scent of the cheese crackers! He was frozen in front of the counter, not moving except for an occasional shifting of his eyes to glance at me to see if I was going to give him the crackers! Of course, I did! But, oddly, he did not eat them. He carried them around in his mouth for most of the day and now the package of crackers is lying in the middle of the living room floor, the wrapper still intact!”
Now back to the family’s collection of tennis balls on their front porch for their three dogs. Dexter is very picky and will only use one, HIS. With great dexter-ity he searches through the balls until he finds his. Martha explains, “It is a wonder how his nose can distinguish ‘his’ ball from all the other wet, slobbery, grimy tennis balls!”
Yes, he has always been an “interesting” dog. “He was so destructive as a puppy, that we called Dexter the Wreckster and Dexter Dolittle,” recalled Martha. “Luckily, his wild nature eventually paid off! He is a rodent-ridder who has caught and killed mice, rats, moles, and shrews. Thankfully, he likes cats. He lets our black cat, Percy, walk underneath his chin and rub against his side and he just sits there. Of course, it helps if he is being offered a treat at the same time. I don't know
how much longer we will be privileged to have Dexter with us, but we will continue lavishing our love on him and he will continue to make us laugh. We are glad that we brought him into our family!”
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