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Once again, I was looking forward to sleeping in. However, that was not to be. Again, I am awakened before the sun, and I sit dazed, wondering what woke me up. I see Potsy snuffling and pawing at the door - he's sounds a bit like a horse. He turns to look at me, and I get out of bed and open the door, thinking he needs to go outside immediately. But, on the other side of the door, sits Dixie. She is a climber too. I scoop her up, and head to the kitchen, where Georgia and Tara are yawning and stretching. They start clamoring for attention as I step over the barricade. It seems odd without Julep. They attack my toes, feet, ankles, and sweatpants. I feed them, hoping to buy some more time to sleep. I put the top half of the barricade in place, and head back to bed for an hour or so. We wake up about three hours later, and I head to the kitchen, where I am greeted by a PILE of shredded plastic and paper, and three wagging tails. It occurs to me that the girls probably didn't like the fact that I went back to bed, and this is the one way that they can show their displeasure. I scoop the girls up, and take them outside. The resident four follow. Daisy is reluctant to go outside, and in a rare moment of defiance, she pees on the rug by the door. I try to get her outside, but she is headed for her couch, and that's that. Pam and I sit outside drinking coffee, watching the dogs run around - Dixie is laying down chewing on a stick, and the others are sniffing around - Dixie raises her head and utters a single muffled "woof" - which immediately sets Buster off to the corner of the yard, in full gallop and with loud Aroos. Potsy has the girls running back and forth around the yard and into and through Dog House Mountain. Buster again climbs DHM, strictly in his role as the Fun Police. I make a note to check the structure for soundness - Buster is a rather LARGE beagle (50 pounds), and DHM has not been rated for that kind of weight. But his stay on DHM was brief, and there are no cracks or other problems with the structure. The dogs are secure in the back yard, and our neighbor, Teresa, will keep an eye on them, since Pam and I have errands to run. We're gone about three hours, and when we come home, the girls are sleeping in a pile on the futon on the back porch. The resident boys are also outside. Daisy is asleep on her couch. I quickly clean up the mess in the kitchen, and put down new plastic. I take apart the metal crate the girls had been using, since Tara peed in it not once, but twice. After cleaning it the second time, I though it would be easier just to remove it, since they don't sleep in it anyway. And, I need to get more newspaper, so I make a run to 7-11. Julep's mom calls me to ask about her climbing. I realize that I forgot to tell her that Julep mastered the art - she'll have to put a towel over her baby gate to prevent Julep from gaining a foothold. Things are going well with Snoopy and Julep, so, so far, so good. And the interesting thing here at Beagle Camp is that there have been no "to the death" fights - there haven't even been any THREATS of fights, since Julep went with her mom. Of course. Still waters run deep. It's always the quiet ones that need to be watched. Tara has the "battle scars" to prove it. It's time to feed the pups and the residents. I bought a surprise for them - I put a scoop of pumpkin in with the resident's kibble, and after feeding the Belles, I take a little, put it on a spoon and see if they like it. Of course, they do. So, I give each of them a spoonful, which they eat much like a kid eats candy. Pam and I take turns snuggling puppies and residents while we watch a movie. Then, it's bed time. And the girls pile into the one crate, and fall asleep. I notice a light snoring noise coming from the crate as I turn out the lights and we head for bed. And it's then that I realize just how tired I am.
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