ABR E15

Updates on the Alaska Beagle Ranch activities. Working Beagles? There out there. Also, can a beagle be a service, support or therapy dog?

Transcript

Alaska Beagle Ranch

Episode 15

Hello everyone and welcome to the Alaska Beagle Ranch. I’m Dave Dorsey and I manage the ranch in Wasilla, Alaska. There are 13 beagles and 1 basset with the ranch right now. Shiloh 2 is one of the beagles and is with a foster. We’ll talk about that in a little bit.

Thank you to all our listeners. This week we had new listeners from Bangladesh. I hope you like what we have for you here.

A recent review on Apple Podcast by Mo Mookie: 

A must listen for beagle lovers!

Jan 23, 2023

mo mookie

Great podcast- very informative and Dave’s love for the small hounds comes through with every episode! Heartfelt tributes to the Beagle Ranch residents end each episode with a smile😊

Thank you Mo, we appreciate your review.

Does your beagle have a job? No, I don’t mean sleeping on the couch or taste testing treats. There are beagles with jobs and we’re going to talk about them today.

Also, do beagles make good service dogs?

But first, let’s get up to date on what’s happening at the Alaska Beagle Ranch.

Update on Jasper:  Jasper has been adopted. Jasper went to his happy fur ever home on Sunday in Anchorage. We wish Jasper all the best beagle life.

Shiloh 2: Shiloh 2 has been neutered and is healing well. After we make sure all is OK, he’s available for adoption. He’s a 6-month-old beagle / tagdterrior mix and a real cutie with a sweet dogality er ah personality. Shiloh 2 is at one of our fabulous fosters right now. You can get an adoption application by emailing me at akbeagleranch@gmail.com.

You can see these pups’ photos on our Facebook page Alaska Beagle Ranch.

You can help support our podcast by donating on PayPal @Beagle Ranch 907.

Today’s show is dedicated to Duke 2. A beagle basset mix with a big big heart.

So, does your beagle go to work?  Well, have you heard of the Beagle Brigade? Those adorable Beagles you see at major airports throughout the US aren’t there to provide cuddles or comfort. They’re part of the Beagle Brigade, a team of hard-working dogs employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sniff out plants and animals that have the potential to carry harmful diseases onto U.S. soil. 

The Beagle Brigade is On the Job

About 120 Beagles are employed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, as well as state and local government agencies and departments.

Spread out across 88 major international airports in the U.S., these specially trained detector dogs use their powerful sense of smell to locate food and other plant and animal products that are prohibited in the U.S. When one of these pups comes across an illicit scent, they let their handler know by sitting down, and the handler takes it from there.

Why Use Beagles?

Beagles are the preferred breed for use in busy airports for several reasons. Their size and appearance prevent them from intimidating hurried travelers, and their calm and friendly temperaments make Beagles a good fit for interacting with large crowds of people. As scent hounds, Beagles also have a highly developed sense of smell that makes them ideally suited for this line of work.

No, they won’t pull you over for speeding, but beagles as police dogs? The first breed I think of is the German Shepard. But the beagle is rated as the #5 best police dog breed.

Beagles are one of the many popular dog breeds that also serve as top-notch police pups. A beagle might not be able to take down a fleeing suspect, but these compact canines can still serve as excellent police dogs.

The smallest of the hounds, the beagle is a superb tracking dog because he can get close to the ground. Beagles have a curious, friendly temperament that makes them good at staying focused on their goal. Although you might think police dogs should be large, the small, friendly beagle has become a popular choice for police work.

In particular, beagles are a breed with a keen sense of smell making them perfect for scent tracking and detection-based nose work activities. 

Their small to medium stature also makes them suited for specialized tasks that would be inappropriate or impossible for larger dogs. These dogs love to keep busy and will enjoy having a daily set of tasks to focus on and stay engaged. 

Can a Beagle Be a Service Dog? 

When we think of service dogs, the usual ones that come to mind are German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, and Labradors who all have one thing in common-a large size. Medium-sized canines such as the Beagle, however, should not be underestimated as they can do the duty as well as the ones mentioned earlier. 

He Can Be There for Emotional Support

By nature, Beagles are calm, loving, loyal, and energetic dogs which can help a great deal in uplifting your spirit. Research has shown that a dog such as this one can feel the same emotion if it sees its owner crying. 

Further data reveals that it not only shows distress, but it would do something to comfort the grieving person. This action, however, is unclear if the dog comforts the owner to relieve itself from the negative atmosphere or to genuinely try to make its human feel better. 

An even-tempered Beagle who loves to please its special person will try to keep you from being sad no matter what the real intention is. Some people struggle a lot with mental issues such as depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and phobias. If anyone in your family experiences sudden outbursts, having a Beagle around can ease the discomfort. 

Sad to say, but the prominence of having an emotional support animal (ESA) has led people to take advantage of the benefits someone who has a real mental disability could gain from such as having the dog sit beside you in a plane. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t discourage you from getting a pooch who will always have your back. 

A Beagle Is a Great Therapy Dog

There is a huge difference between getting a Beagle for emotional support and therapeutic purposes. ESA Beagles are normally designated for one person while a therapy Beagle is brought to places like hospitals and nursing homes. 

It must be known that having and bonding with a Beagle makes the individual’s body produce higher levels of oxytocin. This “love hormone” can improve the psychological well-being of a patient, elderly, or disabled person. In other words, dogs such as a Beagle pup can make people feel good and are a form of destressing merry packages. 

For a Beagle to qualify as a therapy animal, he must be open to getting patted and hugged. This is no problem for the Beagle breed as this dog loves getting attention. Moreover, he should display affection, calmness, and obedience. He should be unfazed when met by different and unfamiliar people and can control himself from letting out unnecessary howls and barks.

It’s time for Beagle Spotlight:Duke Two aka Two came to the ranch from Talketna, Alaska. His humans rescued him in Florida from some not so nice people going through a divorce. They brought him home to Talketna to live with then in the off-grid lifestyle. Unfortunately, the young family of five was going through some rough financial times. I don’t remember if I contacted them or they contacted me, but the next weekend I headed to Talketna. We already had a Duke at ABR, and I don’t like changing names. So, he became Duke Two and he answers to that or Two.

Two is a very loving beagle / basset mix with reddish brown and white markings. He’s up to date on his shots and is now neutered. He had some skin issues but have now cleared up. He was a little possessive at first but has overcome that also. He barks for his dinner and dances in a circle. He’s a couple pounds overweight which we seem to battle often.

We’re lucky to have this sweet boy at the ranch. He helps to keep the bed warm. 

Shoutout: To my favorite sister, Diane Mullen. She stays on top of the action at ABR from all the way across the country in Maryland. She’s an awesome contributor and knows most of the pups by name and hasn’t met them in person. Well, that changes in June when she and a couple other family members come up to visit. I can’t wait.

Plug: My Friend Elise has started a podcast and calls it Old & Bored. It’s available on Buzzsprout and soon to other podcast host as well. Check it out, it’s an interesting show.

Alaska Beagle Ranch is a nonprofit and we depend on donations to help us with our mission. What is our mission? Our mission and our goal are for every beagle, especially in Alaska, has a happy home. For our beagles to be happy, they need to be healthy. We only adopt out healthy beagles, so we need your help in paying their medical bills to get or keep them healthy so they can find their forever home. Beagles that can’t be adopted out become resident beagles at ABR. Their medical, food and upkeep can be costly. We know that the economy isn’t as good as we would like for it to be. Just a few dollars add up and goes a long, long way. You can find us on PayPal @Beagle Ranch907 or go to our Facebook page of Alaska Beagle Ranch and you can find links to PayPal and our Amazon wish list.

Looking for a sponsor. If you have a business or product that is dog related and you’re looking to sponsor or advertise on a dog related podcast and you like ours, give me a call Dave 907-202-4226. It can be dog food, treats daycare, training or whatever. It doesn’t have to be strictly for beagles. Let’s talk about it. 

We are also looking for some wonderful fosters. There can be a lot involved in being a foster, so think it over. Some of our beagles might have special needs like having to go to the vet, or they might need to take meds and maybe it might need some additional training. Of course, they always need some good loving. Sorry, but you must live in the Matanuska Susitna Valley area, specifically near Wasilla or Palmer. Email me at akbeagleranch@gmail.comor call us at 907-202-4226 for more information. Remember, our goal is for every beagle, especially in Alaska, has a happy home.

Thank you for listening to the Alaska Beagle Ranch. If you know someone who is looking to get a beagle, please share our podcast with them. All the episodes will tell you what you need to know about beagles. If you have any questions about beagles and if they are right for you, email me at akbeagleranch@gmail.com or call us at 907-202-4226. You can follow us on Facebook at Alaska Beagle Ranch or on Twitter at @beagle_ranch. 

Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, review, and maybe send some feedback or ideas. See you at Alaska Beagle Ranch next week.