I know I've been coming across as a bit of a sad sack lately, and I don't want my new friends here on TOM to think that about me. Amidst all the doom and gloom in our house, we do have some light moments thanks to our cheeky 3 yr old beagle, Shebuh. Her antics manage to help me remember that I am a friendly, outgoing, cheery, smiley person inside, and that I need to show that side of me a little more often, so to that end I will share an amusing anecdote that happened not long before Carrley went into hospital. It was a good thing in a way, as it helped him to remember it, in those times when he was missing her whilst he was in the hospital. 
 
Now, as most of you know, beagles are ruled by their noses, but one thing that a lot of people don't know is that they are a very intelligent breed and are very good at problem solving. In our kitchen, we have a door that leads to the hallway - this door is fine as it's a normal door, but the door that leads to the dining room is a sliding door. The problem with this door, is that it didn't take Shebuh long at all to figure out how to open it. No amount of barricades, wedges, stoppers etc could compete with her determination to get into the kitchen. We eventually bought a child lock for the door, which managed to do the job for about 6 mths, before it, too, gave in against her dogged (no pun intended) quest to find whatever she could in the kitchen. So, we decided that we would just have to put all food out of her reach. We soon learnt that what we thought was out of her reach, wasn't really, as she has a surprising knack of using her paw as a hook - we've discovered that the only really safe place for food is behind closed doors (pantry, fridge, even the microwave) - although there have been times when she has managed to open the fridge and steal yoghurt, sour cream and butter (we've learnt to ensure that the fridge is properly closed and sealed when we open it!) 
 
But, even if there is no food around, this doesn't stop her from being curious - even if something has a hint of a smell of food on it, then she'll manage to get it to her level. This is what greeted us on entering the kitchen one day.

So, needless to say, we got quite used to the sound of rattling pots and pans in the kitchen, therefore, one evening when we heard a racket in the kitchen we didn't really think twice about it. After a short while I felt that she was unusually quiet (and like a toddler, when they're quiet, is when you need to worry) and this is what greeted me:

Then I looked up - I burst out laughing, and had to call Carrley, as it was a sight that you don't get to see everyday!! Fortunately we had the camera handy.......

Yep, there she was on the counter! She had walked from the right hand side of the counter, over the sink, to the stove where there were some hard boiled eggs in a pan!

On further inspection we discovered that I had inadvertently left a chair too close to her crate, which sits under the kitchen bench. She had climbed up onto the chair, onto her crate and onto the counter. For a medium sized dog she was really quite graceful - she navigated those counters like a mountain goat, no items were knocked down in her journey!! I don't know how she was planning to get down, but I'm sure that if we hadn't discovered her and helped her down, getting down would've been when the items got broken!! 
 
I hope this small insight into the lighter side of our lives has put a smile on your face, as it does ours, whenever we recall it. When things get too hard, just think about the problem solving beagle, and if you are inclined, go to YouTube and put in 'beagle escape' and you will find a few more clever beagles!! 
 
Have a happy day! 
Sandra