The silence of the Beagle

The quiet one will be me. Those who know me, and who have met me, will be aware that I am rarely quiet but that’s another story.

So, I have been quiet on here as well as on other unnamed platforms, for a while now. With the help of my assistants we have been dealing with a few symptoms of old age creeping up on me and I have been neglecting my duties on here. Also I am not yet ready to hand over the editorial reins to my young vampiric assistant Lenny.

Since around last November I have spent most of my waking hours along with those of slumber, in a piece of torture equipment that is known by us furry fiends as the Cone of Shame.

I have been biting my paws, gnawing my legs, scratching my ears and itching my chin pretty much relentlessly. Through numerous visits to the vet I have been on many potions and lotions to try and alleviate my inability to avoid scratching and biting my various extremities to such a degree that my ears became infected, the ears were also scratched raw, I was chewing my legs to the extent that I was pulling the fur out and finally, my chin was red raw as a result of me incessantly scratching the itch. I have been tortured by my itchy demons until quite recently when I visited the vet and was seen by a person I had not encountered before. Swabs were taken of my ear infection, the source was identified, lotion administered and the ear problem subsided. Then it was onto the paws and chin which needed an injection to be given in my rump to settle down the symptoms. I got the injection on 29th September and the problem started to calm down within a few days. I was still in the Cone of Shame as my feet couldn’t resist trying to make their merry way toward my ears and chin until last Friday 10th October. I was snuggled up on the sofa next to my favourite assistant and she removed the Cone. I snoozed quietly. After we had been into the garden for our final business trip of the day I was expecting to see the Cone making its evil way back toward my neck, but it strangely stayed away. I slept without the fiendish device on Friday, found myself without the Cone all day Saturday including my sleeping time. Yesterday I was once more allowed to be outside of the Cone. I haven’t scratched, I’m not itchy and I don’t feel the need to rake my chin and ears, with my toes.

There is a general feeling of relief around the house that I am on the path toward a happier retirement from my duties and that I can live out my days pretty much without the infernal item being attached to me. There is some way to go, my assistants watch me like hawks and I often get warning glares if I become too frantic with my scratching. I may be writing on here a bit more often, you never know. Moral of my tail is, I suppose, that even us beagles have to listen to other people now and then as it seems to be in our best interests. Getting old isn’t necessarily fun or all its cracked up to be. Hopefully I can age disgracefully now, without the Cone being used too frequently.

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rescuedogdexter

Enjoying life in my forever home. Sharing my contentment with whoever will read my tales. I used to live in West Sussex, but I have now moved to Shropshire, UK.

16 thoughts on “The silence of the Beagle”

  1. Oh my goodness that sounds so awful. But Tucker and I are relieved to read the Cone of Shame is no longer.

    Tucker is on a diet. He has a pork belly. So he is going through his own issues. 😉

    He has his own YouTube channel now, each Tuesday there will be one or two updates. You are welcome to join if you like, we are no longer on Twitter with whomever is left of the old beagle gang. 😢

    @TuckerBeagle

    https://youtube.com/@tuckerbeagle?si=NXjG69huGmfCG8_e

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  2. Hoping your recovery continues well Dexter and the ‘cone of shame’ can be put away! Hoping you and Lenny are keeping your folks on their toes, Rosie sends her love and growls (grumbles), well at 12 next birthday (Nov 4th) she is more of a diva than ever!

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  4. OMD that sounds horrendous, all that itching and scratching. Not to mention the cone. Thank goodness you saw a different vet person who managed to fix it. I am very happy for you, I know just how awful those cones can be.
    Enjoy your retirement… may you make lots of mischief xx

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    1. It wasn’t the best time, I have to admit. Fortunately the CoS is a soft one which is good for sleeping in. Not so great for the times I want to rush around the house trying to take chunks from peoples shins though.

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  5. Hey Dexter, glad to hear you’re doing well after all. Your cone of shame looks at least soft and cosy compared to the hard plastic one that Piet had to wear once. But it’s still a cone of shame, of course. We have been quiet as well. You may have seen that I paused writing the blog, however, you can still follow Piet & Bert on Instagram (@piet_the_beagle). We went to London in March, but without the boys this time. You remember that we took Piet there 5 years ago and you gave us some useful advise then? The boys are doing well. Looking forward to read more from you again in the future!

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    1. My blog writing has suffered whilst we have been trying to sort out my ailments. Sadly I realise, at my age, I am going to suffer more with different things so I need to get used to taking life more slowly.

      Glad you got back to London but I’m not sure about not bringing the boys? 🤭

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