I didn't take no pictures but I guess I have been adopted by a beagle. Seen it running around the place several times, never fed it never pet it, nothing. Tonight I'm in the shop working on a tractor, little beagle standing at the doorway just staring at me. I'm like do I grab my gun or? Well I did, and the little dog came right up to me and laid on my feet. 2 hours later, he's laying around panting (in the 90's today). He looked hungry and looked thirsty so I grabbed the cat dish and gave it some water and some chicken scraps I had leftover from dinner. Ate it right up and drank plenty of water. Followed me right into the house too and the cat wasn't having no part of it. My cat's pretty good size, about the same size as the beagle, and a LOT meaner. I can't keep the dog in the house. One, it's stray and who knows what's hiding in his hair and 2 the cat will kill it. No seriously he'll kill the dog. Hates dogs. The beagle had no problem with the cat though, walked right up to it, then backed up quick when the cat went from defensive mode to aggression.
So when I moved out here (I live alone) I spent about a year with no pets other than the ones that are normal (wasps, ants, chiggers, ticks, spiders, a scorpion or two, deer, skunks, polecats, coons, and armadillos). Finally decided that one mouse in the storage building was one too many so I got my coworker to give me one of his barn cats, which did a wonderful job of keeping the mice down. BUT--it also wanted "attention" every single time I was out in the storage building working on a mower or whatever, I mean every time, she'd bring me most of a mouse, or rat, or whatever. At that point I realized I probably need a cat to keep inside so I got another one, pure white, really pretty female shorthaired cat. Problem was, in the middle of the night she'd go to the door and holler wanting to go outside. Finally I started letting her out and she'd hang around the house mostly, come in during the day. So my coworker said why don't you get a dog?
The answer to the question is multifaceted. The biggest reason, when I was real young, my neighbor was mauled to death by a pit. I watched every second of it and still remember it. His widow put the dog down and then a year or so later got another one which attacked me in my back yard. My dad wrote it off as maybe I was heckling it. A few years later the same dog was just minding it's own business in IT'S yard, then all at once it got up, run over to the fence, got under and scalped my little brother. I mean ate his scalp right off, well most of it. Obviously that did not set wwell with my dad and dad walked next door and cut the dog's throat, no warning, just cut it and let it bleed out. Many years later, we had a german shephard, and it attacked me as it was playing fetch. I threw the ball across the yard, he grabbed it, ran back, tail up ears up, like always, and took a good chunk out of my arm, with no warning whatsoever. Shot on site. I will not own a vicious animal of any kind no matter how "sweet" it is.
So my experiences with dogs has not been great. We also had a poodle, chihuahua, 2 or 3 heelers (my favorite), a beagle when I was very young (I do not remember it, just pictures), and a couple of mutt rescues-all good dogs and a few of them very very intelligent (well for a dog). But those negative experiences I had stuck and even this little beagle that is hanging around I don't trust it. The inside cat? Jerk. But at least a predictable jerk. He's laying beside me right now purring. All 18 lbs of it and no he's not really that fat, just a big old ball of fuzz. With an attitude, usually from 5am until about 7am, then from about 830 pm til 10. Play, cut up, attack you from around the corner (and bite), etc.
