only_me
Well-Known Member
I got a beagle when I was 9 for my first dog, It was the 27th November 1996. Chester died on the 28th December 2010.
He was incredibly hard to train; I gave up after training him to sit, stay, lie down and concentrated on his party tricks. Bare in mind I was 9, and managed to train him to do these things. He did everything for food, and knew the difference between dog chocolate and real chocolate
I never let him off the lead; instead he formed a new business with my dad, and we set up the invisible fencing in northern ireland. Still the only stockist here, because of him. A few times when the battery died of his collar he would go off hunting for a day, but would always return in time for dinner!
His party tricks were supreme. We had "plays" with him when I was younger, he jumped pillows and teddys lined up in our hall. We took him to our caravan at the coast, where he learnt to skateboard, to go on a scooter (complete with red bandana & sunglasses), but his favourite pastime was to go out on the boat with us; he had his own special lifejacket (he didn't like swimming much!) and on our rib, he had the front seat and stood up with the wind in his ears!
He loved just being with us, and doing what we did, he got very good at going in the doughnut behind the boat, and he had been known to catch a fish or two (although they were already in the boat!). He loved going for walks (although I assume he would rather do them with no lead!) and every morning for nearly 8/9 years he went running with my dad, doing up to 6 miles. Dad would always complain that he had to pull him on in certain spots because he needed to "expand his territory!".
Chester loved being with us; he was a very apt hoover after parties and he liked nothing more than stealing 10minutes in front of the open fire, to relax after patrolling his area all day! His howling was unique, and he appeared so very brave, except when there were balloons or fireworks about, where he would then be found in the darkest spot under a bed, which always happened to be mine
Chester then began to feel the effects of running for so many years and the abuse of us kids showed; he began to limp behind and was less active as usual, and he was a lot worse in the winter months. So a visit to the vet (Chester had been to the vets only to get his vaccinations) and an xray showed the extend of the damage. Both cruciate ligaments in his back legs had effectively "gone" and so had the days of his runs
So we decided to put him on painkillers, from vet's reccomendations. He had good days and bad days; soon he was able to only have painkillers every other day, and was soon feeling up to killing the neighbour's chickens. Luckily for us (and the chickens) he only killed the cockerels!
He was having a very happy retirement, and went for occasional walks, shorter than usual, but he was always happy to just be with us!
He had a fatal flaw though, he liked to bark at different car tyres as they were travelling down our drive, and that one day, the 28th, he just got too close to escape. It was quick, and I was inconsolable. My best friend for 14 years had gone, we grew up together, and it is the sign of the end of an era. I am now nearly finished uni, and will be leaving home. My best friend has gone, and so marks the end of my childhood.
I will leave you with a couple photos of him; some show the daily torment we gave him, others show him in the lap of luxury - I loved my time with him, and he loved his time with us. He had the final laugh though; when we buried him, dad placed a squeaky toy with him. When Chester was placed in his final resting place, overlooking his entire property, he squeaked!
On christmas day, he was Santa Paws
Playing in the snow over christmas
He was incredibly hard to train; I gave up after training him to sit, stay, lie down and concentrated on his party tricks. Bare in mind I was 9, and managed to train him to do these things. He did everything for food, and knew the difference between dog chocolate and real chocolate
I never let him off the lead; instead he formed a new business with my dad, and we set up the invisible fencing in northern ireland. Still the only stockist here, because of him. A few times when the battery died of his collar he would go off hunting for a day, but would always return in time for dinner!
His party tricks were supreme. We had "plays" with him when I was younger, he jumped pillows and teddys lined up in our hall. We took him to our caravan at the coast, where he learnt to skateboard, to go on a scooter (complete with red bandana & sunglasses), but his favourite pastime was to go out on the boat with us; he had his own special lifejacket (he didn't like swimming much!) and on our rib, he had the front seat and stood up with the wind in his ears!
He loved just being with us, and doing what we did, he got very good at going in the doughnut behind the boat, and he had been known to catch a fish or two (although they were already in the boat!). He loved going for walks (although I assume he would rather do them with no lead!) and every morning for nearly 8/9 years he went running with my dad, doing up to 6 miles. Dad would always complain that he had to pull him on in certain spots because he needed to "expand his territory!".Chester loved being with us; he was a very apt hoover after parties and he liked nothing more than stealing 10minutes in front of the open fire, to relax after patrolling his area all day! His howling was unique, and he appeared so very brave, except when there were balloons or fireworks about, where he would then be found in the darkest spot under a bed, which always happened to be mine
Chester then began to feel the effects of running for so many years and the abuse of us kids showed; he began to limp behind and was less active as usual, and he was a lot worse in the winter months. So a visit to the vet (Chester had been to the vets only to get his vaccinations) and an xray showed the extend of the damage. Both cruciate ligaments in his back legs had effectively "gone" and so had the days of his runs
So we decided to put him on painkillers, from vet's reccomendations. He had good days and bad days; soon he was able to only have painkillers every other day, and was soon feeling up to killing the neighbour's chickens. Luckily for us (and the chickens) he only killed the cockerels!He was having a very happy retirement, and went for occasional walks, shorter than usual, but he was always happy to just be with us!
He had a fatal flaw though, he liked to bark at different car tyres as they were travelling down our drive, and that one day, the 28th, he just got too close to escape. It was quick, and I was inconsolable. My best friend for 14 years had gone, we grew up together, and it is the sign of the end of an era. I am now nearly finished uni, and will be leaving home. My best friend has gone, and so marks the end of my childhood.
I will leave you with a couple photos of him; some show the daily torment we gave him, others show him in the lap of luxury - I loved my time with him, and he loved his time with us. He had the final laugh though; when we buried him, dad placed a squeaky toy with him. When Chester was placed in his final resting place, overlooking his entire property, he squeaked!
On christmas day, he was Santa Paws
Playing in the snow over christmas
