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Beagling!

Thanksgiving at the Doggie Day Care - what a crazy time! We were full to capacity - for the first time ever at this facility. We did so many good things, we did so many things right, but there’s nothing that can prepare you for the sound of 150 dogs barking inside a large concrete and steel box.


In some ways, it was like when I volunteered at the Evanston Animal Shelter - when the animals heard us come in, they all started talking! That makes the quiet when we finally leave so satisfying - knowing that all the animals were safe, fed, and had been socialized. At the Evanston Shelter I don’t think we ever had more than 30 animals on the cat side and 30 on the dog side. And those sides were fairly well separated. At the doggie day care it is one huge open area. None of the walls separating the various yards go all the way to the ceiling, nor do the walls of the boarding cabins. So the noise just bounces around.


We had a lot of dogs who were not our normal day care dogs. We had a lot of extra beagles. Every single one of them was absolutely delightful. It got me thinking about beagles. Here’s a photo of one:



The first thing I learned when I started looking into the history of beagles is that beagling is a word! Who knew? Beagling is the hunting of hares and rabbits by scent. Traditionally beagling is a way for young people to learn to handle packs of hounds before moving on to fox hunting. Hunting with hounds has been illegal in the UK since 2005, and yet, Eton, Radley, and Stowe (all public schools) still maintain beagling packs.


The more I looked into this, the weirder it seemed. There are elegiac articles about how beagling trains people to become politicians, claiming that beagling is an important rite of passage. Eton hosts a “Beagling Ball” annually.


Beagling is done on foot (as opposed to fox hunting, which is conducted on horseback). Fox hunting is also illegal in the UK - since 2004 - except in Northern Ireland. Apparently, the beagling packs (always ten or more dogs) are now mainly used for show-type exercises that mimic some of the skills used in beagling.


In any case, beagles are a very old breed. Beagles have been depicted in art since Elizabethan times. Queen Elizabeth herself kept “pocket beagles” which stand eight to nine inches high. Her grandfather kept "glove beagles" which are even smaller - supposedly fit on a glove.


Going back further, William the Conquerer brought two types of hounds to England in the eleventh century: the St. Hubert Hound and the Talbot hound. He crossed these with greyhounds to give them speed for deer hunting. But the slower, smaller hounds eventually became beagles.


From the Middle Ages, beagle was a term used generically for any small hound. (Hence the word beagling, I’m guessing). In the 18th century, the modern beagle breed began to coalesce. The North Country Beagle was developed, mainly in Yorkshire. And then in the 1830s, Rev. Phillip Honeywood established a beagle pack from North Country Beagles and Southern Hounds that formed the basis for the modern breed.


Honeywood has been credited with creating the modern breed, although his beagles were all pure white. Others, refining the breed, brought in the colors we now accept as standard. The tri-color beagle is now the most common type. By 1887 there were 18 beagle packs in England, and by 1890 there was a Beagle Club.


Modern beagles, because of their superior sense of smell, are the most common dogs used in detecting prohibited agricultural imports around the world.


There are many famous beagles. Perhaps more famous beagles than any other breed. Of course there’s the comic dog Snoopy, who is a great representative of the breed, accurately representing the happy, social nature of most beagles.


And Darwin’s famous ship, the HMS Beagle. There were actually eight different Royal Navy ships named Beagle, the first of them a brig-sloop in service from 1804 to 1814. Of course, Darwin’s ship was launched in 1820. The most recent beagle was launched in 1967. (It’s not that unusual for the Royal Navy to name ships after dogs. There were seven HMS Bulldogs). Here's a drawing of the HMS Beagle:



In any case, my fantasy dog is now a labrador/beagle mix. Here’s one more photo of a beagle, this one hard at work:



In soap world, we’re enjoying sending gift boxes around the country. I asked the employee at the Post Office what’s the last date we can ship a box of soap and be absolutely sure it will arrive in time for Christmas. He told me, this year, things are so crazy with the Post Office, he would not mail anything after December 10th.


That’s next week! So, if you would like to send the gift of soap, please order soon. Our soaps can be found at SerenaSoaps.com. Here’s a photo of our “Manly” gift box:



We never would’ve thought of having a “manly” collection, but our customers at the Albuquerque Rail Yards Market requested it. The scents in this collection are: tobacco/bay leaf, ginger/patchouli, sandalwood, and cedar. It is a real bargain, I think - and our most popular gift box.


So, whatever you're sending this year, please get it in the mail soon!

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