This is Ellie…I took this picture this morning as she was eagerly awaiting her run. She is a redbone hound. She is almost 9 years old….but you would never know it.
After Rosaline our bassett beagle mix died we couldn’t stand the silence in the house. We went to the Pound and rescued Ellie.
She was so thin you could see every rib and every bone in her back. Yet her eyes were bright and she was full of energy.
Immediately we both said…yes….this is the one. They said they thought she was just 6 months old at the time. Now almost 8 1/2 years later, she’s trim, her eyes are bright and STILL full of energy!
Everyone that has ever lived near us….knows Ellie. That movie Funny Farm….with Chevy Chase…has the dog that runs away….and they see it every now and then run past….that must be Ellie’s relative.
When she gets on a deer trail…you can hear her in the mountain with that sound that only a hound makes.
We now feel like we know why she was in the Pound. Her owners probably got tired of going and getting her out. HA
And that is probably why she was so thin….she still runs so much she stays in really good shape.
She is such a friendly dog…she meets no stranger. She just doesn’t understand that everybody is not going to love her…like we do.
She has always loved the squeeky noise maker they put into dog toys. She takes the toy apart and gets the sqeeker out every time. That came in handy when we lived in the city. My husband would go in one direction and I the other holding my hand out of the car window squeeking it as loud as I could. Sure enough she would come running up to the car IF she was in hearing range.
But then there have been other times that we retrieved her from the pound (again), posted lost dog posters, and had total strangers call us due to the name and number on her collar.
We have a lady that goes to our church now that I originally met when she too had some time with Ellie at her house….She saw me and said…hey, your Ellie’s Mama.
My husband and I have even thought that maybe she doesn’t really want to live with us…maybe she is disappointed every time we pick her up. She almost gave us a complex.
One sweet lady found her and brought her home in her car…and Ellie had been sprayed with a skunk…now that woman was a true dog lover.
Once Ellie was gone for 2 days. We thought for sure that we wouldn’t see her again. A lady called after seeing the signs and said she had her. Ellie was in no hurry to come home though. When I went to get her…she was in the house…like she owned the place. The lady said she had been sleeping with her son the last 2 nights in the boys bed!
There are many, many more stories like those.
Being that Ellie is SO active…she pretty much goes with us on most every trip out of town. We can’t keep up with her…so we know that others wouldn’t be able to either.
Saying that you will not be surprised to know that Ellie has runaway while camping at Talladega…. twice… and the Grand Canyon. There is a whole lot of wildlife at the Grand Canyon!
I know you probably think well we should try to do something about that. We have…we have had boundary fences, shock collars….we have tried it all.
For over seven years while still living in the city, we would make a daily drive to the land we now live on ….and let her run her little heart out. You would have thought that would have done the trick. NOPE.
If you have ever seen the movie Groundhog Day…that is what goes on here everyday.
My husband gets up, pushes the on button to the coffee pot. He heads out the door for the paper and Ellie is in tow. She sprints to the end of the driveway, retrieves the paper and brings it back in for her treat.
She settles back in her bed until my husband is ready to give her her run. She watches patiently. When shoes go on….well need I say more.
After the run my husband will either let her back in or I will get a text that says….Watch for Ellie.
Yesterday she visited the man down the road who has a really pretty fluffy white rabbit in a cage….and come to find out he now has a few chicks….uh oh.
Pretty sure this will become one of her favorite hang out spots! But the gentleman…..loves Ellie. He calls and lets us know he will hold onto her until one of us comes and gets her.
Always with a ….hey, no hurry, she’s fine…we like Ellie.
It is amazing. Still we do not want her to bother other people. Yet, if neighbors do not see her around for a week or two…they ask if Ellie is ok, they say they miss seeing her. No worries she usually will pop back in on them the next week!
We chose a red bone hound. We often say….WHAT WERE WE THINKING.
With that comes a dog that loves to get on a deer trail, chase a rabbit, squirrel, armadillo and pretty much anything else that lives in the woods.
She came into the the house with this one day….Of course it didn’t stay in the house!
She is a mess. But we love her. I suppose it will be a very sad day when she no longer wants to run.
Everyday is interesting. Matter of fact….my husband just poked his head in the door….Watch for Ellie.
See I told you….Groundhog Day.
I've Gone Country 