The Beagle Puppy Took Her Post on the Porch Steps and Stayed There
Evening settles over the front porch, and one lemon and white Beagle puppy sits on the top step as though she has been given an important post. Her long, soft ears fall past her cheeks, her dark eyes look off to one side, and her cream-colored chest is puffed out with quiet pride. A lantern glows beside the door, and the siding, a small plant and a wrought iron gate fade into the dusk behind her.
Beagles are scent hounds, bred long ago to track rabbits by nose, and that history shows in the way they sit at a doorway and take in the world. A porch is a very rich place for a nose, full of passing smells from the street, the yard and the neighbors. This breed is friendly and social, but it is also easily led by its nose, so a leash or a securely fenced yard is a must. Teaching a reliable recall early helps keep a curious pup safe.
Steps can be tricky for small puppies, so a baby gate at the top and a helping hand on the way down protect growing joints.
For now she is happy to sit and sniff, a small guard in a pale coat, watching the neighborhood go by one smell at a time. Given a few more weeks, she will be bounding down those steps and tugging at the leash with the best of them, but this quiet pose is a lovely snapshot of the in-between.
