Beagle brains

Here are some of the reasons I have fallen in love with beagles:
- They live an unrepentant life.
- They know what they like and they go after it…every time.
- They’re emotional and have a great sense of humor and a flair for the dramatic.
We live with a two-year-old beagle named Hunter S. Thompson. We originally named him Hunter for his insatiable nose, but soon added his middle initial and last name in honor of the late Colorado gonzo journalist who never did anything halfway… ever.
Hunter came into our lives a few months before I was laid off from my job as a journalist and before my husband had life-changing open-chest surgery. It was a year of transition in our lives, and in retrospect, probably not the best time to welcome a beagle puppy into our family.
We bought a book about beagles and how to train them. It said they are single-minded and can be hard to train. Hunter ate the book. Before he grew out of toddlerhood, he also destroyed 28 pillows (yes, we kept buying new ones), two TV remotes, a slipper, three books (in addition to the training book), two fleece blankets. a corner of the couch, and countless bath towels and socks.
I know the tale of Hunter’s destruction isn’t that different from many other puppy stories, but there’s something about a beagle’s attitude that’s as impressive as it is maddening.
Hunter is a little mellower now (we’ve only lost two pillows in the last six months), but he still lives his life with no regrets, and is thrilled to see what he can find around the next bend in the trail. I'm trying to be more like Hunter.