a coonhound

This is how our lunches start... (notice the handful of food that Lila thinks she needs to keep at all times)

Insert Walker, our Treeing Walker Coonhound.

Walker sits and he waits patiently for any little piece that Lila might drop.

Nearing the end of her meal, she always seems to find pity on poor old Walker.

I mean, he is being tortured by his big snout with all the smells of food.

This is the story of how we came to own a coonhound...

Ever since we have moved back to Memphis, the girls have begged and begged for a dog. We have not had luck in the dog department. Jason and I got a dog when we got married and she was proven to not like children. Then, while we were in Tupelo we got a cocker spaniel, a not that smart dog who never would get potty trained after almost 2 years. I was very skeptical as to if we were meant to be dog owners. Luck was not on our side.

However, the girls wore us down and before we knew it we were off to the Germantown Animal Shelter. They told us the sweetest and best dog there was was a dog named Maggie. We were told she was not a pitt bull even though she looked a lot like one. Well... we took her to the vet and she was in fact a pitt. Even though we heard that pitt bull's can be really sweet depending on their owners, we were nervous. So, Maggie went back to the animal shelter (and was adopted quickly after).

We traded in Maggie for a Border Collie/Lab mix. 2 weeks later he attacked Ava for no reason, biting her arm and ear in several spots. He went immediately back to the shelter.

You would have thought at this point that the girls, especially Ava, would have beebn reluctant about owning a dog. But no, the begging continued.

Out of options at the Germantown Animal Shelter, Jason took Emma and Ava to the Bartlett Animal Shelter. He called me asking me about 2 dogs, a bulldog and a lab. I told him to do what he thought best, but remember we didn't have to get a dog at all today.

An hour later Jason calls me and tells me that he decided to go in a different direction. He was bringing home a Treeing Walker Coonhound, a beagle on stilts. He was told by the people that worked there that these dogs did great in the city and needed little exercise.

Immediately after I got off the phone I did a little research. All the research came back saying that these dogs were NOT suitable for urban areas and they required vigorous exercise. Lovely.

I did not have high expectations for our Walker, but he has so proved me wrong. He's lovable and rarely barks and he has never snapped at the girls. He will just let the girls love him all up.

He's officially a part of this family.