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Several years ago we gave my daughter (who still lives at home) a Beagle puppy for her 21st birthday.
From the day she came into this house (which is, of course, now her house), little Chloe (a.k.a. "The Queen of Everyt'ing") calls the shots - all of them.
Like a latter-day Gladys Kravitz, she sits on the window sill most of the time, monitoring the neighbourhood - barking at anyone who deigns to walk on our street without having obtained her express permission - in writing and duly notarized - beforehand.
She can't hear you when you yell "Get off the couch!" directly into her ear. But if someone slams a car-door two thousand miles away, she will bark for an hour to express her displeasure at having one of her twenty-six-per-day naps disturbed.
When we brought Zen home last September, a five-week-old Lab-and-Shepherd pup the size of a thimble, Chloe thought he was absolutely adorable - until she woke up the next morning, and he was still here. Her expression spoke volumes: "Seriously, you're not keeping that mutt, are you?"
Now that Zen is the size of a small pony, Chloe still has him terrorized - along with the rest of the family, reluctant visitors, and exasperated neighbours. (If nothing else, Chloe has been a boon to the real estate agents in the area, who have noted that a house sale today will invariably lead to the same house being on the market within a matter of weeks.)
Oh, yeah, she's adorable and all that - but if you ever meet someone you really dislike, give them a Beagle. You will ruin their lives forever. Trust me.
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