Maggie the Wonder Dog

To say Maggie is our dog just doesn't do her justice.  She's more than that.  She's one of the best pets I've ever had.  We got her as a companion for my other dog Chiquita.  I thought Chiquita had taught Maggie how to go sit by the door if she needed to go out but now I realize that it was probably more Maggie learning on her own by watching Chiquita.  She's one smart dog.  Lately though, she's developed a rather strange habit.  In contrast to Chiquita who would down her food in 4 gulps as soon as you placed it in front of her, Maggie will leave her food well over several hours until she's hungry.  Now she's even gone so far as to wait until we are eating before she will eat.  We'll feed her and she'll leave it alone until someone sits down at the kitchen table to eat.  It's like she's developed manners.  She's part Beagle so sometimes her desire to run overrides her obedience and she'll bolt out the garage or front door if we're not careful.  But I also learned years ago that she comes back too.  After 15-20 minutes she'll start wandering back around the house and all we have to do is invite her back inside.  One time at our old house she escaped out of the back yard.  I search the entire yard for where she was getting out of but couldn't find anywhere she could fit through.  So I waited and watched her one day.  She had found a fence picket that wasn't nailed down on the bottom and would push it open until she was out.  The picket would then snap back into place thus she had a secret escape door!  I have no idea how she found that picket.  The neighborhood kids love her.  She's kind and gentle around them. 

She doesn't try and grab food and is happy to have her belly rubbed.  She barks when someone is at the front door but she's not a barker.  If she wants to be petted she'll gently place a paw up on your leg as you sit on the couch.  If you say down though she'll take it back down.  She's not stubborn which is unusual for a Beagle except when you want her to go outside and she doesn't want to.  Then she'll slowly crawl across the room to you as if she's in trouble.  I think she thinks being put outside is punishment.  She loves to chase (and catch) birds.  I've seen her catch 2 birds from mid-air.  Once she found a rabbit in our yard.  I was standing on the back porch and here she comes around the corner of the house with a rabbit in her mouth, plopped it down right at my feet and just walked away like it was something she'd done many times before.  I was pretty proud of her (even though I was a little sad for the rabbit).  She loves to play and will fetch when she's feeling playful.  We can leave her inside for several hours without worrying about having "surprises" when we get back.  She's been on 14 hour car rides and loves to go on trips.  All in all we couldn't have asked for a better dog family member.   She turned 11 yrs old this year.  I try not to think of a dogs life span because I know that when it's her time it'll be one of the hardest day I'll ever have to deal with.  Hopefully she'll live longer than normal.  She's in great shape at 11 yrs old.  even the vet has mentioned her excellent shape.  I can only hope we get to enjoy her love and affection for many years to come.