At last, beagle is regal page 2

Beagle Lovers Unite! Uno's victory gives beagles their due

BY EDIE GROSS

Date published: 2/18/2008

"We talk every year about it, that these are real dogs and real people, and what more of a real dog can you have than a beagle?"

Indeed. Nancy Guinn, owner of Dog Krazy in downtown Fredericksburg, walked into a Dumfries animal shelter 11 years ago looking for a German shepherd.

She walked out with Talula, a beagle who regularly greets visitors to Guinn's shop.

"People come in here asking for her all the time," Guinn said. "She's a doll baby."

Uno's win brings attention to the breed, but dog-lovers shouldn't be fooled by the beagle's cuddly mug, said Johnson, founder of Beagle Rescue, Education and Welfare (BREW) Mid-Atlantic (brewbeagles.org).

They're wonderful with children and rarely aggressive. But they can be stubborn, difficult to train and loud, as evidenced by Uno's "aroooo" heard 'round the world.

BREW Mid-Atlantic gets about 30 requests a week to take in beagles, some from pet owners who didn't realize how challenging the hounds could be, Johnson said.

"A beagle is a goofball of a dog. If you don't have a sense of humor, you and your beagle will not get along," she said. "If you want to be respected for your dog choice, get a German shepherd or a froufrou dog. If you want a dog who's gonna take up a lot of space on your bed and belch with the best of them, get yourself a beagle."

Edie Gross: 540/374-5428 egross@freelancestar.com

PROMINENT BEAGLES PROMINENT BEAGLES IN PUBLIC SERVICE The U.S. Department of Agriculture relies on "Beagle Brigades" to sniff out illegal meat and produce at airports throughout the country. The dogs are prized for their superior sense of smell. According to the USDA, people have about 5 million scent receptors in their noses while beagles possess an estimated 220 million. IN LITERATURE Long before Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's blond-haired, blue-eyed Shiloh graced the cover of People magazine, a beagle by the same name peered from the cover of an award-winning children's book. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's popular tale "Shiloh" chronicles an 11-year-old boy's efforts to save a beagle from his abusive owner. The book won the 1992 Newbery Medal and was made into a PG movie in 1996. In addition, references to beagles are contained in William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and at least one translation of Homer's "Iliad." IN THE CAPITOL President Lyndon Baines Johnson moved into the White House in 1963 with two beagles: Him and Her. President Johnson was criticized six months later when he lifted Him by the ears while greeting visitors on the White House lawn. In 1966, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover gave Johnson another Beagle. The president called him J. Edgar, but later dropped the first initial, calling the dog Edgar. ON THE FUNNY PAGES Often considered the world's most famous beagle, Snoopy debuted in a Peanuts comic strip on Oct. 4, 1950. About a year and a half later, he sported his first thought balloon. Snoopy spent five decades-that's 350 years in dog years-stealing Linus' blanket, planting wet ones on Lucy's face, performing his patented "Suppertime Dance" and battling his arch enemy, the Red Baron, as the World War I Flying Ace. In his spare time, he played shortstop on Charlie Brown's baseball team, worked on the Great American Novel and served as a Beagle Scout, leading Woodstock and friends on camping trips. ON THE BIG SCREEN In Hollywood's longstanding battle between good and evil, beagles routinely end up on the side of good. In the 2001 film "Cats and Dogs," Lou the Beagle works with a pack of dog agents to thwart the evil Mr. Tinkles' plans to bring about world domination for cats. In 2007's "Underdog," a beagle with superpowers battles a mad scientist who's trying to take over the city. The character is based on a 1960s cartoon. And the human-dog duo of Wallace and Gromit won an Oscar for best-animated film in 2005's "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." While Wallace is a well-intentioned inventor, Gromit, a beagle, is the brains of the Claymation operation. IN MUSIC Singer Barry Manilow included pictures of his beagle, Bagel, on the backs of three of his album covers: "Barry Manilow II" (1974), "Tryin' To Get The Feeling" (1975), and "Barry" (1980). He also thanked Bagel and another beagle, Biscuit, on several of his album jackets.

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Date published: 2/18/2008

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