9/27/09

The Beagle Bash of 2009 was our best effort yet.  The tireless begging efforts of Ewa secured us some terrific items to raffle off, including gift certificates to some very nice restaurants, spa services, stores, etc.  She even scored two round trip tickets donated by Southwest Airlines!  Our volunteers, always generous with their time and resources provided games and contests, the ever popular Bean 'n Bentley Bakery, the manning of the grill and snack tables, the Beagle Store, the coordination of the bag raffles, and a thousand other minute details that keep the Beagle Bash on track.  A special thanks to Mike Carr who graciously took upon himself the thankless task of Gate Keeper.  He was the smiling man who didn't let your dog escape as a steady stream of folks entered and left the fenced area.

Unlike 2008 when the thermometer read 137° with 100% humidity (Was there a worse day all summer?), this year's Beagle Bash dawned rain.  It poured...but by the time we got to the Countryside Kennels, the rain had stopped and by the stroke of noon it was sunny.  The temperature was warm enough for some to enjoy the pool, but not so hot it was uncomfortable.  During the last 15 minutes or so, the clouds rolled back in.  It began to spit as we threw the last tent in the truck, and the sky opened up as we pulled away.  After a ghastly end of summer (lots of injured/sick beagles taken into rescue and The Saga of Maggie's Great Escape), we were blessed, blessed, blessed with a WONDERFUL, STUPENDOUS BEAGLE BASH!!!

      
Above, left to right:   Volunteers Bob & Debbie man the Bean 'n Bentley Bakery,  Michael the Gate Keeper,  and Bryan the kindly Soda Man

Above left, Eric,  Master of the Flame prepares to serve the masses;   Far right, the McGonigal Family arrives with Skipper

   
 Mark and Ryan take Charlie for a swim,  a couple of tired pups poolside, and Lillian smiles while Rose hazes the photographer 
(Lillian and Rose do a marvelous job of coordinating all those raffle baskets!)

    
Mara and Judy tend to the Beagle Store, a gift "basket" donated by McCormick & Co, and treats being handed out by the pool

   
Jay threatens Billy with a swimming lesson, the tiniest little beagle you ever saw, and the photographer's assistant earns his keep

     
Billy spies a pool toy.  He seriously thinks about jumping in to get it.   Nah, just kidding.

       
The moment everyone has been waiting for..... the drawing of the raffle tickets!

   
The people are great, the food and prizes are great, the games are fun, but the best part of the Beagle Bash is BEAGLES!  They are everywhere you look.
There is every shape, color configuration and personality type at our event.  There are outgoing and playful beagles, staid and shy ones, but the day passes and there
are seldom harsh words exchanged among them.  They welcome their non-beagle friends like they're part of the family.

   
A puggle enjoys some adoring children, a beagle invites Heidi the German Shepherd to play, and this fellow gets some encouragement to "sit!"

    
Dogs Finding Dogs put on an amazing tracking demonstration.  Lee (the Coon Hound) and Heidi (the German Shepherd)
taught those Beagles a thing or two about using their noses!

There were three Beagles and our own tripod Treeing Walker Coonhound, Biffle in the fenced pool area who had more fun than everyone else
put together.  They ran and wrestled and chased one another for a very long time.  They made everyone watching them smile.  Our photographer
tried hard to capture them, but they moved too fast to aim the camera.  Below, thumbnailed , are some of the photos.  Most are rather blurred
and only one has all four dogs in the photo.  They had so much fun that you could almost hear them laughing.

     
Click on thumbnail for larger image

We regret that we don't have photos of the Dogs Finding Dogs demonstration, nor do we have photos of agility
and Fly Ball.  For all the work that she did, surely Ewa should have her picture here.  Apologies to all who worked
so hard for the success of the 2009 Beagle Bash who are undocumented on this page.

Many thanks to our wonderful volunteers and thanks to all of our adopters who came out with their BRSM alumni.  It was great to see you,
as well as our new friends who visited with us for the first time.  Thanks for your support!