Hounds!

One of my favorite childhood memories was hunting behind my Uncle Richard's pedigreed and registered beagle. She was a fabulous rabbit dog and also learned how to track pheasants. And she loved the attention she got from my cousins when they were children. We missed her when she passed away.

Yep, some great memories. My dad and I hunted railroad tracks. One up high on the tracks the other down low on the inside edge of the field with the beagles in the middle brush. The most interesting thing I saw was the beagle striking a trail that went up a perpendicular fence line toward the road. I was up top on the railroad that day. The dog was trailing up the fence and about 75 yards in the cut cornfield I saw the rabbit loping along back toward the railroad tracks. Interesting how they always seemed to make a big circle back to where you jumped them. Great memories - carried a Ithaca model 37 16 with corncob for-end.
 
My Elmer wasn't high on the smart scale. For a hound, he couldn't hunt worth a hoot. The only thing he chased was his next meal, and he wasn't particular at which neighbor's house he found it. I never called him; I'd just shake a bag of Gravy Train and he'd come running. The only person he ever bit was me, but I bit him back and we called a truce. The next day he produced a binding contract from his lawyer. That was when I learned all about parties of the first part, et cetera.

Once when I had to stay home from school with the flu, Elmer kept me company while I laid in bed. I thought he was being loyal, but years later I realized he was just keeping the bed company when I went to school. Anyhow, he was accustomed to meeting me at the bus stop every day after school, being as I was the bearer of food. Every afternoon while I was sick in bed, Elmer would jump up and run off to the bus stop and wait for me to get off. He'd stay there long after the bus departed until I finally got out of bed and rattled the bag of Gravy Train.
 
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