Walking HRH Ernesto the beagle has always been an experience. My daughter tells me that I shouldn't walk him on an extension leash because it gives him delusions of power. She's probably right, but in my canine indulgent head, walking him a s hort leash is denying him freedom. So when I walk him, I am subjected to beagle vicissitudes of scent --- who knows what it might be? My neighbor, another beagle owner, informed me that scent hounds have 10,000 cells in their scent sense portfolio that enable them to detect an aroma from miles away. Certain that seems true of Ernesto, who shall hereinafter be referred to by his AKA name, Ernie the beagle boy.
My almost 2 year-old granddaughter Lucy, herself royalty of some magical kingdom, has decided that she can now walk Ernie, even though he goes from zero to sixty when he sees a squirrel or a rabbit. So, I divide the leash so that she can hold the slack portion while I withstand the greater portion of the dog's flights of fancy. Off we go to the park. Lucy is delighted because as she says, "I do it." Ernie is remarkably tolerant. I think in his beagle brain he does understand that he will lose if a choice has to be made about who gets to go to the park without this compromise. It's not so bad, Ernie. Lucy holds him in the highest esteem.
These two delightful creatures, both weighing in at about thirty pounds, already have a profound respect and love for each other. It will be interesting to watch it develop.
