Young Master Tim mentioned that on Facebook, he read someone in his neighborhood had a litter of beagle puppies. I should have checked that out, but didn’t.
My sister Joanne sent me a link to an article saying that 42 Beagles were rescued from Lakewood House.
That should have motivated me. My sister Susie called to tell me that all the beagles were moved to the animal shelter in Elyria.
On the Friday before MLK Day, I went over to take a look. I wanted all of them. Two puppies were howling for fun, so they were cute. Dogs laying on their cots seemed sanguine and pleasant. Dogs wagging their tails were ready to go. The process for adopting wasn’t onerous or expensive. I couldn’t decide.
On the Tuesday after, I went over with Susie to try to decide. I spent the weekend getting a crate, food, and whatever other dog accoutrements anyone could recommend.
Most of the beagles had been adopted out. The dogs left looked used up.
We talked to Greg, the manager of the Friendship Animal Protective League, and in passing, he mentioned that a beagle had come in, but wasn’t ready to be adopted yet.
He was a 9 year old male named Sammy.
You can’t tell much about a dog at the pound. They’ve been through a lot and are in jail. It’s a nice place, like white collar prison, but still. Sammy was friendly and active, with no sign of aggression or temper.
Sammy at adoption
A nine year-old dog seemed like a good idea. I can live through anything for five or six years, and the more I read about puppies, the more it seemed like too much for my first dog. I like the idea that I got this dog before he was up for grabs. Since I don’t know what I’m doing, it’s good to know that nobody else met him and rejected him.
After going through about a couple of dozen iterations on a name, I settled on Sparky.
Sparky comes home on January 18, 2023
Susie and I went back the next day to pick up Sparky. He had been neutered the day before, so he had to wear the cone of shame. I was told that he had kennel cough, and that would clear up in a week or so. His blood test showed that he had Lyme disease. In dogs, that is a bacterial infection that may not do anything for a year or so, but can attack the joints and kidneys. They gave me an antibiotic, Doxycycline, that Sparky has to take twice per day for a month.
We got him home and settled pretty easily. For everything he’s got going on, he remains good natured and friendly.