July 1^st

Half of 2024 is gone. We rarely think about that this time of year. Our minds are on the heat, July 4^th, vacations or any number of things that distract us from the passage of time. This year has disappeared extremely fast. Cataract surgery, back surgery and on-going issues with a rash that won’t go away have been physical issues that have kept my mind from processing the passage of time. Another factor that has disturbed our time is Jane and I have finally become dog owners once again. Beaux-Bo, as my granddaughter Kate christened him, is a half-beagle, half- Jack Russell mix that is all puppy. It was a long process to find another dog since my old dog Cotton was such a good dog that lived to the ripe old age of 15 and one-half years. We knew that there would be a period of time training Beaux but remarkably he has been a fairly quick learner. Again, we lucked out to get Beaux at 14 weeks which allowed the prior owner to do some training with him.

A dog is a reminder of the brevity of this life we have been given. For a dog to reach the age of Cotton is unusual but those 15 years go by so fast. Cotton was my dog as well as my daughter, Megan’s dog. As a young girl Megan, trained the little Jack Russell to ride in a basket on her electric scooter. Where ever Megan was, Cotton was normally by her side. Cotton was fearless when it came to dispatching snakes, so much so that she suffered a copperhead bite while Jane and I were gone to Raleigh for a workshop. Thankfully, Darin and Kelly were able to get her to the Vet and mitigate her injury. Cotton’s claim to fame was her ‘Zoomies’, where she could be whipped into a frenzy. She would run back and forth in the house, jumping into her sleeping bed and sliding into the wall. However, she normally was very laid back, particularly for a Jack Russell. It was this dichotomy of her behavior that endeared her to our family. (Of course, the way she would jump into my lap and nuzzle her short muzzle under my chin, was especially gratifying for me.)

So now begins a new chapter of dog ownership for Jane and I. The puppy stage is both frustrating and amusing. Beaux’s personality is coming out more and more each day. Beaux will not allow Jane and I to chill out for long. In fact, as I am writing this he is yipping, reminding us that he is out on his tied down, his place for after breakfast to avoid messing in the house. We hope to get him trained to hang out at the house without a tie down but I don’t trust his beagle nose that wants him to take-off and track anything and everything. For now, we will keep him leashed close by or in the house. I am sure that the life of Beaux will go even faster than the dogs that grew up with my children. I see them, with children of their own, and wonder where the years have gone. A half a year seems like a month or two. Maybe 2024 will be bit slower with a wild and crazy pup.