Our first dog was adopted from an animal shelter, but Peggy passed away only a week after we took her. She was sick, and vets couldn’t save her. She was with our family for a short time but got under our skin, and it wasn’t easy to cope with the loss. The decision was made to take another dog, but this time from a certified breeder.

From the first time Oscar entered our tiny apartment, he was a box full of surprises, and since he came to us in a cardboard box I don’t mean it just literally. Once freed from his box, Oscar instantly went into a Beagle frenzy sniffing around the flat, looking for who knows what. He had the squeaky voice, clumsy legs, and infinite cute factor. This anarchist, cat among dogs, punk rocker out of the box became our pack member with a bit of his own agenda.

One time, hanging in the park with other dogs, and their owners, our little cute pup popped out of the bush with a dead pigeon in his mouth. Other time, he found a sandwich in tin foil and ate it together with the indigestible cover.

Years passed by, and Oscar enjoyed long walks, running on the river bank, in a dog park, playing with other dogs and his pack. Then in his fourth year, we moved to the countryside, he got his backyard, frequent encounters with rabbits and dears, and a lake where he would swim almost every day.

Oscar was (and still is) a proud and strong male Beagle, so handsome that he became popular among female Beagle owners, and in a couple of love meetings, he got total of 16 little Beagle pups.

In this more natural environment, he picked up a tick and fought with the illness bravely whole week. We immediately knew something was wrong, as soon as he didn’t want his treat. Beagles are mostly notorious for their unrivaled appetite.

Oscar developed allergies, and first blooming of plants sends him in itching and scratching phase, and as though that wasn’t enough, in his eight years he got diabetes. We check his sugar levels couple of times during the day and he gets his insulin shots accordingly.

Besides his not so great health, and a couple of gray hairs, he is same untamed Beagle hound. If you come to our garden party, chances are you will throw him his yellow ball a few hours. Loud bark, and waving his tail like crazy is his way to say welcome. Woof, woof, don’t just stand there, throw me the ball. So, you see, Oscar is a true inspiration, real-life character for a fictional tales in Adventures of Oscar the Beagle children book series.

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