<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><P>Good Morning,</P>
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<P>First off we would like to thank Pam, who offered us advice on our rescued Basset Snoopy who started Baying at other dogs a couple of weeks after we brought him home from the pound. Turns out Pam is right, a human being with pastrami in their hand is orders of magnitude more important to a basset than another pesky dog ... he ignores EVERYTHING else when there is pastrami involved!! Food huh?</P>
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<P>Well, we've always had labs before, we went down to the pound looking for a companion for our 6 year old Lab Cyrus and came home with an adorable red basset named Snoopy a couple of months ago. Snoopy's owner had died and he'd been a stray for a while (skinny, sick) so he had a few issues, but hey, don't we all. Cyrus was a little confused at first (what is this thing? smells like a dog but ... ) but he loves his little brother now. My two girls adore Snoopy. I'm telling you though ... he does the strangest things .... like ...</P>
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<P>He makes off with stuff ... all kinds of stuff. He is forever stealing a teddy bear off of one of the girls beds, or the TV remote, reading glasses, or somebody's cell phone .... even clothes. He doesn't chew stuff up, not even a scratch, but he is a little borrower and we have to hunt high and low ... there's a dog door so even the yard, to find our stuff.</P>
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<P>He is very snuggly 95% of the time. The other 5% he will talk nasty to anyone who tries to snuggle him. he doesn't bite or snap or anything like that, just talks nasty. He's clearly inconvenienced.</P>
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<P>Snoopy also door dashes. Most of the time he doesn't go anywhere ... but twice now he's picked up a scent and taken off ... both times we got him back the strangest way ... first time my 11 year old accidently let him out leaving for the school bus. I ran for my coat and keys and she took off after him. But, it was foggy and he ran out into the street and she was having trouble keeping up and she knew she shouldn't run out into the street on a foggy morning so she just started to cry ... and that little Snoopy turned around and came back to comfort her ... I found them in a neighbors yard with my daughter wrapped around little Snoopy. </P>
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<P>Second time it happened was at night ... a pitch black night. Of all things we were teaching Snoopy NOT to door dash and both dogs were in a sit and my husband opened the door and everything was fine until Snoopy got up from his sit and DASHED right through the open door into the dark night. Well ... I looked down at my Black Lab named Cyrus and out the door into that dark night and said "GO get Snoopy!!". Of course my kids and my husband had taken off after Snoopy but they had no hope to catch him in the dark ... my daughter reports that they saw a black shadow get in front of Snoopy and stay on his heals all the way back to the door. All I saw was my beloved black dog disappear at a dead run into the night ... and come charging back a few minutes later right behind a VERY naughty basset with a huge grin.</P>
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<P>Snoopy is a pretty good boy. He doesn't chew, doesn't dig, doesn't bite and doesn't go potty in the house. When he made off with a whole stick of butter off of the counter last week he let me take it back (out of his mouth) without complaint. He talks all kinds of stuff though ... makes off with stuff ... thinks he's the boss ... is this what it's like to be owned by a basset?</P>
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<P>I'm new to this so I'm sure I'll have many more questions over the years (Snoopy's only 5).</P>
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<P>More later about our little Snoopy.</P>
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<P>--Dale</P>
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<P>P.S. I know this is a bit long winded but there have been so many losses lately, I thought the ongoing story of a now happy rescue might cheer some a bit.</P></div></body></html>