Beagle

A day in the life of "Lola"

I stop, nose pointed to the sky and close my eyes. What is that? Is it a bird? Another dog? Something to roll in? I sniff again and again, determined to catch the smell of the wind again. Sniff, sniff, sniff, there it is!

I drop my head low darting my nose left and right along the ground as I follow the scent off the footpath and into the scrub. I must locate the source.

‘Lola, get back here!’ I ignore the call, too absorbed in… What is it? I think it’s another dog. I dart beneath a bush, pushing through the brambles and leaves to follow the exact trail as the mystery scent. I can hear my owner yelling in the distance behind, but there’s no time. My front legs are through and I flatten my ears to my head, avoiding the jabbing sticks. Finally, my whole body is through and the bush opens into a mini clearing.

Oh no, the smell. It’s gone! I sniff deeply and dart back and forth in the clearing to catch it again. I dart to the right and… Oh! Who is this? Their fur is orange, and the tail puffy. It looks like a dog, but they smell different. I approach the stranger cautiously, and they slink back and yell. This is not the sound of a dog?! Hold on, is that a… And then I’m flying, grabbed my human by the scruff of the neck they pull me out of the bush towards them.

‘Have you finished?’ How polite of my owner to ask. My human makes me sit, and clips the can’t-go-far thingy to my neck and we head back onto the footpath. Tomorrow, I’ll have to find the red fluffy friend again.