Lady, is this your dog?

After a nice 6-mile walk today I came home and sat down to read my email. My dogs were outside, and one was making noise. A girl came to the door and told me one of my dogs was loose. She scared the crap out of me, since beagles are notorious escape artists and do not return. They will chase rabbit scent until a car flattens them permanently. It's nothing personal, it's just the breed. No breed escapes and gets lost more than beagles.

I ran outside and took a peek at the dog run. Two smiling beagles mugged for me. I only have two, so I told the girl it wasn't my dog. She said a neighbor boy, Ryan, was getting the dog. I checked next door for little Chase (who is now pretty well grown up) and she was home too.

A few minutes later a man and Ryan pulled into my driveway. Of course they had a beagle in the front seat with them. It was a male, and both of mine are females. He looked like a sweetie, but he wasn't mine. The boy wanted to take the dog home until the owner could be found, but his mother said NO. The man and I discussed it, and I agreed to hold the dog until his owner was tracked down.

I figured it would not take long. Anyone who keeps a beagle has to love the beast since they are so stubborn and footloose, given the chance. The nice man gave me his card and number, saying he would not leave me stuck with a stray, just in case the owner wasn't found.

So I put a collar and leash on the errant young man and tried to bring him in the front door. I wasn't worried about a fight; beagles love everybody. The girls scared the crap out of him.

OK, Plan B. I walked him over to the gate for the dog run and put him in there. He immediately sat on the step and waited to be let in, very politely. He was clearly a loved dog. His nails were clipped, his fur was shiny and well petted, he had great manners and he had a dent from a collar. Obviously another beagle with the urge to chase a rabbit scent.

I let my dogs out and put down a bowl of water. I went in the house, got the phone book and my cell phone. While the dogs got into some serious butt sniffing and other greetings, I spent ten minutes calling the police, getting the owner's name and number, and arranging to meet the frantic guy at the nearby fire station. I asked him the dog's name, which was Leon. The dog responded immediately to the name.

I "saddled up" three beagles because mine were not going to let another dog go on a walk without them. Walking three dogs at once is an art, and I am still learning it. Luckily the fire station is almost in my back yard.

So the four of us trotted through Chase's back yard (she howled hello) to the  fire station. The owner showed up, very frantic to see his boy.

BUT - he jumped out of his truck and a second beagle followed him out, with no leash. She behaved, but still, she is a beagle. He said Leon had escaped before. He was grateful to have his boy back, but he got a gentle lecture about beagles in general and how to keep them safer.

I suggested he get a harness, and use a separate collar. If the dog slips the harness while being walked, it would still have the collar with license tags. It seems that Leon escaped from the car. The man had his window down, and let the dog hang out the window on the driver's side. So he was driving around with a 30 lb dog on his lap. The dog was tied in the seat with a collar around his neck, and he slipped the collar, and went out the window.

Dumb dog, indeed. I suggested that he stop doing that and keep the dog completely inside the truck.

Leon just jumped into the truck and went to sleep, happy to be back home. The girls miss him already.