Thankful Thursday: Good Friends and Determined Beagles
27. Aug, 2009 
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As Simrat at Akal Ranch says,
Gratitude creates its own attitude.
Once again, It’s Thankful Thursday, and I’m taking a moment to consider all the things I have to be grateful for. Part of mindful awareness is living gratitude every moment of every day, and not just while writing Thankful Thursday’s post, however. Please remember that even if you don’t participate in Thankful Thursdays, be mindful and grateful for everything.
Take a few minutes today to create your own Thankful Thursday. If you don’t have a blog of your own, you are welcome to post your thoughts here. If you have a blog, post what you are grateful there, and please link back here. Feel free to tag other bloggers. We are trying to get a mindful movement of gratitude going.
For more thankfulness try out Akal Ranch, Tired Dog Ranch, or the Pony Expression.
Last week was a killer. I say that with metaphorical intention, but it could have been literal in many senses of the word. It was a tough week. But I have much to be grateful for.
My daughter is out of the hospital, and for the moment, well. We have no concrete plans to return there.
My beagle, Ruby, not to be separated from her human, made not one, but two valiant but ill-advised attempts to gain her freedom and find me all the way in Kealakekua. One day I left her and my cats Evinrude and Gizmo in the house, with the doors and windows closed. All but a tiny crack in the upstairs sliding doors that lead to the lanai (pretentious Hawaiian word for balcony) for fresh air. It seems that Ruby took the “I WILL NOT BE CONTAINED” oath all beagles take at birth and took it seriously. When I returned home at dinnertime to feed them and let everyone out for their business and some affection, I called to her and heard no response. panic!
I went running out into the drive yelling her name only to be confronted by a smiling but uncertain Peter the condo manager, Ruby in tow. She had apparently leapt off the upper lanai, and fallen two stories to her freedom, and was on her way to find me when he caught her.
Adrenaline must have masked her pain, because she is still lame, though the vet assures me she is not terribly injured. The very next day she tried the same thing at Linda’s house, creeping silently off the upper lanai onto Linda’s front porch ROOF. She had to be talked down like a suicide attempt. She was given a treat and a thorough talking to.
Which brings me to the final object of my gratitude for this week: my boss, Linda. Not only is she my boss, but she is also my friend. And Ruby’s friend. She kept Ruby for the week, enabling the formation of a fast friendship between Ruby beagle and Rayne the Westie. I can’t imagine a better temporary human for an injured and disoriented dog than Linda Tellington-Jones. Now Ruby has friends in Hawaii, too!
Someone please remind me to issue them both parachutes the next time I have to go away.
© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal
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Ruby is quite the focused Beagle. I’m glad that she is okay! And that your daughter is better. May she stay that way.
Kim…Big thanks to Linda for taking care of Ruby for a week. She is definately the perfect choice….Your puppy does not want to be away from you…ever again. Are the cats doing well? It’s good to hear that your daughter is doing well.
Lori
Can you think of a better “pet sitter?” Ruby just wants to be with me. I can’t fathom such one-pointed concentration.
The cats a great! Once they got settled they acted like it was the most natural thing in the world to be in a completely new place. They saunter around like real Keauhou cats.
My daughter is okay, too. THanks for asking!
Simrat
I think maybe beagles tend to be that way. Freedom and the human they are attached to at all costs. ‘For the time being, we are all OK. Thank you–we hope to stay that way, too.
Wow! Glad Ruby is okay after her adventures. Hubby grew up with a beagle and they are driven to roam.
Also, good news on your daughter
That’s the word I’ve been searching for: DRIVEN. Hard to fathom. No one believed me when I suggested that regular porch railings or even fortified railings would not contain her. Now they view such ramparts with the same suspicion as I do. Thank goodness, because I can’t always be on guard, and others will need to keep an “educated” eye on her.
Wow, that’s enough to give you a real scare! Naughty Ruby. =) Well I’m glad that she and your daughter are both fine and that things have settled down a bit.
Oh it was a scare alright–she is still stiff. Not naughty though, just driven, as horseideology says below.
Glad to hear your daughter is feeling better. Love the name Ruby and always wanted to name a mare that. Anyway she surely is driven to be with you. Hope she stays put for a while.
Hi ghm
I also love that name, and it fits this jewel of a dog.
Hope you find a mare who deserves it too!
I’ve taken steps to make certain she stays with me, because if anything ever happened through my negligence, I’d just die.
Now she goes with me almost everywhere.