Familiar Times

 

We didn't do anything special, no hats, no ice cream or doggie cakes. It was Walter's 3rd birthday on February 1st. I remember sitting down at the computer on a rainy Saturday in Sierra Vista AZ in April 2020. I was looking for another bloodhound but they all seemed to be east of the Rockies and I wasn't going that far for a hound. Then I thought, what about an English Bulldog? I had always liked them and wanted one. So I found an ad in Tucson. I made a phone call, he was still available and I headed up there to see him. He is the same color as his dad who was huge and the size of my mom, which was small. So he is a small male by AKC standards but a great dog.

When Stella Was Younger

When there is a 100% chance of rain all day, and we wake up to rain, then plans for a blog post moves in a difference direction. I have thousand of photos to choose from and have told stories of my past hounds before. Today I thought I'd show some of the newer blog followers and readers what Stella looked like just a couple of years ago. Aging changes you and I as well as Stella. She use to love to play and run at full speed.

Of  course some things changed when Sadie was gone but even the last year of Sadie's life, they did not wrestle as much as they use to and it was rare if Stella sprinted through the field or chased Sadie. Her hips or her front legs bother her and that is the reason I started giving her glucosamine supplement, yet that does not make her feel like running like she use to. She will be 10 years old this summer.

I picked up Stella in August 2015 when she was 6 years old.

It did not take long for Sadie to like Stella as someone she could play with and finally have a hound that was more her size rather than a basset hound.

Stella, Sadie, Winston and Heidi enjoying a nice summer day.

They use to run at full speed all over the field and yard.

Even in the middle of the walk they would still play in the field if they had the urge.

We had just turned the first corner in March 2016 when Sadie saw deer at the back of the field. Both bloodhounds took off sprinting after the deer, who ran north along the back edge of the field toward the woods with the bloodhounds running as fast as possible after them.

They were both proud of their deer chase as they ran back to me.

Stella may not run as much as she use to and she doesn't have Sadie to hang out with anymore but there is one thing she still likes to do .... sleep under the sunshine.

With the weather like it is, I'll be inside most of the day and read the three different books I am in the middle of. I'll have late starting Reds baseball games for the next four nights from San Diego to watch but good weather is a few days away.

It has to rain sometimes in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Different Hounds Different Personalities

Nothing was more evident about basset hounds being different from bloodhounds than this morning. The word 'hounds' is about the only thing they have in common. With a wind chill of 35° this morning Heidi wasn't moving from her Marmot sleeping bag while Sadie and Stella walked, wrestled and then wanted a ride.

Bloodhounds Energized In Cold Temps

 

During our Sunday morning walk with a wind chill factor around 25°, I noticed they were tracking a lot but didn't notice any extra energy really. Until those last steps right before we go inside ... Stella started wrestling with Sadie. After her 'mystery' sickness last winter, that is a great thing to see.