you don't have to live like a refugee...

as you may know, my father-in-law had a stroke back in april and has been hospitalized since. he is improving everyday. however, it is still going to be a long road. we offered to adopt his hunting beagles. as they need some extra attention. and well, i'm a sucker for a sad eyed beagle.

meet the two newest refugees... lulu and junior. lulu is in by no means related to lulu of "the adventures of lulu" stories. i just like the name.

junior comes from a long line of rook family beagles. his mother was buttercup (whose birth i witnessed many moons ago). and buttercup was daughter to blind ol'annie (whom i wrote a song about called "ballad of the lonely hunter"). jr has a hereditary condition called cherry eye which is a deformity of the tear gland. it can be fixed with surgery. however, it would involve removing the tear gland (which would cause dry eye and possible infections). so, we're just gonna leave him be. he thinks it makes him look tough. i agree.

i'm not exactly sure about lulu's lineage. i do know that she's old as hell. and has had her share of puppies. we are getting her spayed. mostly to prevent any del ray offspring which would no doubt be a plague on the world.

lulu

junior lookin' good!

"oh, is this not cool?" - junior

"no, it's not." - porkchop

lulu don't like cameras