The American Bloodhound Club Bulletin An article from the spring 1997 issue

It took me 30 yrs to realize I was mature enough to have a dog. It took another year to find one (I wish I knew then about the ABC). I expected to have a dog that lays by my feet all day (she does), but I never expected to chase bad guys through the woods! What I wanted and what I got are two different things.

What it actually means to have a dog....

shove pills down her throat,

clean her ears,

a brisk mile long walk in 9 degree wind chill this morning (to smell her favorite critters and mark as many dead fish as she can find) fix breakfast,

give her a cookie & let her out,

'roof' at the back gate, let her in, she follows me around until she gets another cookie, then back outside, repeat several times 'enough Luca, go lay down!'

Back home from work - 'time to go to work Luca.' Spend one and a half hours driving to and from training, 3-4 hours training pups and dogs and handlers - get home at midnight - give Luca a cookie - she wants more than one,

more pills,

phone rings at 2 am, 'lets go to work Luca' (her tail wags).

In between all this are the times we lay on the floor and rub her tummy, laugh when she tells us something funny, smile when she smiles at us, and listen when she tells us something important.

Not what I expected, but I sure like it.

Chad Harris & Luca