Dig It Dog



I wish I had the single-minded focus of my dog when he’s on the trail of a scent. Brody is so driven by what he smells that I have researched Scent and Blood Hounds to see if he qualifies. I know he’s not purebred but he does seem to have the traits and look of these hounds. He has an incredible level of stamina and Iron Man determination. He’ll never give up on finding his prey once he’s onto an interesting odor. When his nose starts twitching like Samantha Stevens from Bewitched and he lowers his head to concentrate on the field, that’s my cue to tighten up on the leash and hang on for the ride.

My first instinct is to look for a cat or a squirrel but soon Brody starts pawing at the ground and triumphantly uncovers a turtle or a mole. Unlike true Scent Hounds he doesn’t bay to alert his owner of his findings, no he wants to stay and play with his bounty. I will never forget the image of a white tail hanging out of Brody’s mouth. He was so proud of himself he couldn’t wait to share his conquest. When I ordered him to drop it, a dead mouse promptly fell at my feet. What a sweet gift, you shouldn’t have, no really you shouldn’t have. There was not a scratch on the mouse, poor thing probably died of fright.

One hot sunny day while Brody was in the yard, he started digging next to the fence. He rarely digs. I thought he was once again in pursuit of a ground-dwelling animal. He carved out a half moon shaped bunker, circled around in it a couple of times, plunked down pleased with his handiwork. It kept his belly nice and cool and so did the ice-cold beer he was drinking. (Um, no not really)