Quote:
Originally Posted by dudley
we used to camp in the ocala national forest and being far from any roads we allowed the dogs to run free. frequently they would be gone all night but we could here them baying and tracking something way off in the distance all night long. they would come back the following day (occasionally two days later) exhausted and happy. i felt they were getting to behave like beagles and never thought twice about it. then came the day they found the rattlesnake nest. according to the vet beagles dislike and will attack rattlesnakes. bailey was bitten six times on the face and died the next day. michelle was bitten once on the base of the tail and had to be put down two weeks later when her skin literally began to die and slough off. almost twenty years later and i still tear up thinking about it. I miss them like it was yesterday.  needless to say if E.B. and C.B. are off leash in an unfenced area for just a moment i get panicky.
give your dogs some extra love today for my bailey and michelle, R.I.P. |
This is such a sad story, you've really moved me. At the start of your message I was full of admiration of you letting your beagles have such freedom, thinking how much my two would just love such an opportunity to roam and hunt and sniff to their hearts content. Boy oh boy did you all pay the price, I can well imagine how something so tragic can still feel raw today.
You should always consider though that they were very much loved and had a fabulous beagle adventure before they passed. Cuddling my two as I type x