The Beagles

I have been posting so much about Spencer lately that I have neglected to share anything about the first "babies" in my life - Ben, Lucy, and Barkley, our three beagles.

Preston with Lucy, Ben, and Barkley

Ben, or Benjamin as we call him when he is in trouble. He is the boss - definitely the alpha male type. Ben has a fetish for chewing on ears, particularly Lucy's ears. He slimes them until they are dripping wet as he chews and licks them. I think the reason he continually chews on her ears despite getting in trouble every time it that he thinks he is cleaning her ears out! I claim Ben as my beagle because I feel like he chose me when we were looking at all the other puppies in his litter. He crawled right up to me and cuddled with me. I knew from that day on that he would be my dog. He is also our little guard dog - Always on alert to bark at anything that comes close to our house (which the neighbors don't always appreciate!).

Lucy is our little cuddler and is affectionately referred to as "Miss Lucy," "Lucy Girl," or "Lu". She is so sweet and always looking for attention. If we invite one of the other beagles to come sit by us Lucy assumes that we are talking to her also and makes herself comfortable next to us (whether we are comfortable or not!) But don't let Lucy's sweet nature fool you! She definitely has some attitude and lets the boy beagles know that she is not to be messed with. Lucy is very playful and is constantly trying to entice Barkley to play with her by barking at him or laying down in front of him and rolling around on the floor to get his attention.

Barkley is Ben's half brother and also his nephew (they have the same dad, but Ben's sister is Barkley's mom...If that makes sense!). He is known as a "lemon" colored beagle which is kind of rare, not the traditional tri-colored beagle. Things just wouldn't be complete without Barkley. I think that no matter how old he gets he will always have a face that looks like a puppy. He just flashes his puppy eyes at you and you just want to melt! Barkley is our little escape artist. Since he is smaller and more slender than the other two beagles he often tries to squeeze himself through small openings in the fence or gate. Barkley knows that he is not the boss, Ben is, but that doesn't keep him from acting like the boss every once in awhile. And many times Ben will allow him a few minutes to be the boss but will quickly put him in his place once he has had a little fun.