{"id":364,"date":"2018-01-12T10:54:46","date_gmt":"2018-01-12T15:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=364"},"modified":"2018-02-19T16:41:16","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T21:41:16","slug":"fwd-tara-coonhound-with-puppies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=364","title":{"rendered":"TARA … COONHOUND WITH PUPPIES"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cMarjorie, the humane society just called, they have a black \u00a0and tan coonhound pup up here. \u00a0 Needs a home.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cTell them to \u00a0Hold her for us.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cAre you sure? \u00a0Coonhounds are hunting dogs.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cThey are so beautiful\u2026affectionate, \u00a0loyal\u2026shame to let that dog go too a gun lover.\u201d<\/div>\n
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And so we \u00a0adopted our Tara. \u00a0She was absolutely stunning as a pup and as an adult.<\/div>\n
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Often men would stop to pet Tara\u2026some even wanted us to give her up in hunting season.<\/div>\n
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\u201cBlack and \u00a0tan, eh? \u00a0Does she bugle?\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cBugle?”<\/div>\n
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\u201cCoonhounds Holler like \u00a0Louis Armstrong\u2019s trumpet when they tree a raccoon. \u00a0Love that sound,?<\/div>\n
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\u201cHow is her nose?\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cNose?\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cBlack and tans are bred to hunt. \u00a0Sure not a \u00a0house \u00a0dog\u2026traced back \u00a0to medieval times \u2026to the Talbot Hound.\u00a0 That hound \u00a0was mostly white back in the 16th century. \u00a0Some \u00a0were used to track \u00a0thieves \u00a0rather than small game.\u00a0 Over here they were \u00a0bred \u00a0in the eastern mountains as great hunting dogs. \u00a0Once they get a scent, you \u00a0can<\/div>\n
forget about getting them back. Best to follow the nose..the bugling… until they tree whatever they chase. Not a house dog.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cBut we \u00a0got Tara for the kids\u2026for our house. \u00a0We do \u00a0not hunt. We hate guns and cannot understand \u00a0why hunters want to kill things.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cWell you got yourselves the \u00a0wrong dog, that is for sure. \u00a0Better to give her away to a hunter.”<\/div>\n
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Well, authorities were both right and \u00a0wrong. \u00a0Tara \u00a0was a hunting dog but she was also a most gentle , loving, intelligent family dog.<\/div>\n
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DOGS develop a loyalty to their owners that goes \u00a0beyond love of country. \u00a0 Put another \u00a0way A dog gived unconditional love\u2026forgiving of all<\/p>\n

the flaws in human nature. \u00a0That trust has its dangers \u00a0as \u00a0we discovered with our coonhound pup, Shadow. \u00a0But\u00a0first, here is \u00a0Tara who was \u00a0Shadow’s mother along with ten other puppies carefully bred \u00a0by Marjorie and dispersed to owners across Southern Ontario with great care. \u00a0Humorous care really. \u00a0First take a look at Tara and her brood.<\/div>\n
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In those years we were \u00a0tapping a maple forest each \u00a0spring and collecting the sap \u00a0which \u00a0was boiled down \u00a0into almost black maple \u00a0syrup. \u00a0Black? \u00a0Yes, black because the wood ash and smoke were thick and \u00a0uncontrolled. \u00a0lots \u00a0got into\u00a0the boiling pans\u2026gave \u00a0our maple syrup body. \u00a0Not bad tasting. \u00a0Then shortly afterwards \u00a0our system with the yellow \u00a0sap pails was outlawed \u00a0because of lead<\/div>\n
solder in the joints. I suppose that is \u00a0One \u00a0of \u00a0the reasons \u00a0I am a bit of a dimwit \u00a0Lead poisoning just like the guys on Franklin\u2019s expedtion to the Arctic long ago. They were poisoned \u00a0by the lead seals on \u00a0their canned \u00a0food.<\/div>\n
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If \u00a0I went a bit barmy and got lost or hurt \u00a0in the forest. \u00a0I was sure \u00a0Tara wold \u00a0look after me. \u00a0She stuck \u00a0with us \u00a0even where there were lots of wild things that a coonhound normally tracked. \u00a0Dogs \u00a0like Tara love their masters\u2026watch over them\u2026alert to dangers.\u00a0 Somehow that word \u2018masters\u2019 is inappropriate\u2026Partner is better but still not right. \u00a0Maybe you can suggest a term.<\/div>\n
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In England, the coonhounds\u2026then called Talbot Houds, were used \u00a0to track thieves and \u00a0other criminals. \u00a0Tara \u00a0did \u00a0not have that skill.\u00a0 Had she the hunting instinct we could have used her to track the bastards that used \u00a0.22 rifles to shoot holes \u00a0in our sap pales thereby ending our syrup making.<\/div>\n
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RACCOONS VERSUS COONHOUNDS: NATURAL ENEMIES?<\/div>\n
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Raccoons are the prime enemy of \u00a0black and \u00a0tan \u00a0coonhounds according to some \u00a0raconteurs who tell endless stories of treed raccoons \u00a0meeting their death from lead \u00a0poisoning (i.e. bullets) after being treed by black and tans. \u00a0Some authorities\u00a0 in the American Appalachians \u00a0Mooutains say that raccoons \u00a0lure tracking coonhounds out into open swamps then turn around \u00a0and climb on the dog\u2019s backs \u00a0and drown them.\u00a0 Raccoons and \u00a0Coonhounds, according to some writers, are natural born enemies.\u00a0 I am not too sure of that being true. \u00a0Why? \u00a0See below.<\/div>\n
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One year while Tara was \u00a0with us, our neighbour found a baby raccoon in her fireplace. \u00a0We took it and raised Ricky (i.e. \u00a0Ricky the Raccoon)<\/div>\n
to adulthood. \u00a0from a near dead \u00a0thing no bigger than the palm of your hand to a \u00a0full grown raccoon. \u00a0How \u00a0did \u00a0Tara \u00a0react? \u00a0No problem,<\/div>\n
she \u00a0considered Ricky just another extension \u00a0of the family.. \u00a0Raising raccoons becomes difficult the older they get. \u00a0For a couple of months we could walk around with Ricky on our head \u00a0or wrapped around our necks. \u00a0A \u00a0loving little creature. \u00a0And \u00a0then, overnight, he changed into a wild thing\u2026spitting\u2026biting. \u00a0So we let him go in a cornfield. \u00a0Chances \u00a0of survival would be 50\/50 at best. \u00a0Tara watched him waddle off, almost sad to see him go.<\/div>\n
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Then one year Marjorie, who by this time had the kids \u00a0and herself dressed in clothes \u00a0that matched Tara\u2026colour coded. Marjorie decided to get Tara bred and ferreted \u00a0out a \u00a0big old \u00a0male coonhound. Fat but willing. \u00a0They locked together much to our surprise. Locked? \u00a0That is a breeders term and \u00a0suitable. \u00a0When \u00a0Tara and \u00a0the male locked , everyone \u00a0panicked and Marjorie \u00a0threw a pail of cold water on them. \u00a0Locking means the male has penetrated the female and \u00a0then<\/div>\n
weirdly he or she turns \u00a0around. \u00a0Each faint different directions\u2026Not- South or East – West. \u00a0\u201cThe thing is going to get broken\u2026get some water\u2026 disentach them.\u00a0 If we \u00a0had only known about locking then Tara wold not have been doused in water. \u00a0Fortunately she \u00a0had been bred by then.<\/div>\n
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Marjorie \u00a0did \u00a0not stop once she \u00a0found \u00a0homes for the pubs. \u00a0She checked \u00a0up on t he homes \u00a0afterwards. \u00a0Fortunately it was never \u00a0necessary for\u00a0her to remedial \u00a0action\u2026like \u00a0sending me with the truck to repossess \u00a0a \u00a0pup but she would have done that had she suspected \u00a0abuse of any kind.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Tara \u00a0had eleven puppies. \u00a0Cut little bounders. \u00a0I tried to pen them up in the backyard but they grew so \u00a0fast that the pens were obsolete<\/div>\n
as soon as they were built. \u00a0Newspaper \u00a0came to photograph the eleven puppies. \u00a0Kevin and \u00a0Andy lay on the ground covered in \u00a0bullies with tongues \u00a0washing the boys affectionately. \u00a0 The newspaper even \u00a0sent a \u00a0reporter to photograph the brood \u00a0as they pawed Kevin.<\/div>\n
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But what were \u00a0we to do with eleven coonhound puppies? \u201cCan\u2019t we keep them all?\u201d asked \u00a0Kevin. \u00a0The neighbours were long suffering as \u00a0it was with the 11pups and Tara and \u00a0the cat and \u00a0our two ducks, Ping And Pong, who thought they were human and one crippled Canada goose. \u00a0\u201cNo, Kev, we must find \u00a0good homes for them.\u201d \u00a0 But what is a good \u00a0home for hounds? Marjorie put an add in the paper and \u00a0a \u00a0great number of people \u00a0responded. \u00a0Mostly men. \u00a0Marjorie questioned each of them.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhere will you keep the puppy?\u2019 \u00a0 If the answer was \u201cbarn\u201d, then that man was told to buzz off. \u00a0Down \u00a0the road from our farm a hound \u00a0was kept chained in the barn all year except for hunting season. \u00a0Saddest thing to see that poor old \u00a0hound with his life circumscribed by the limits of the chain. \u00a0In addition one late fall day \u00a0a hound showed \u00a0up at our farm house He just flopped on the back stoop snd looked \u00a0at us.. \u00a0He was skinny and starving. \u00a0We fed him but eventually he took off to continue looking for his owner which he likely never found. \u00a0Some \u00a0hunters abandon hounds at the end of the hunting season we were told.<\/div>\n
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Now the second question. \u00a0Seemed innocent\u2026appropriate. \u00a0But it was \u00a0a trick \u00a0question.<\/div>\n
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\u201cDo you hunt?\u201d \u00a0 If \u00a0the applicant said yes, he was rejected. \u00a0\u201cSorry sir I am not selling pups to hunters.\u201d \u00a0Now this was \u00a0considered \u00a0peculiar behaviour because black and tan coonhounds are hunting dogs. \u00a0Seemed reasonable that hunters would want the pups. \u00a0But no hunter got one or ours. \u00a0 \u00a0Ours went to families or old couples seeking company. \u00a0Marjorie cross examined each applicant as \u00a0if they were candidates to be CEO of Hydro One. \u00a0Whups!, Wrong example. Coonhounds were used to hunt and find thieves as I mentioned earlier. \u00a0Coonhounds might get confused if they got\u00a0within smelling range of Hydro One Execs. \u00a0Suffice it to say that Marjorie gave each candidate a thorough examination and many failed.<\/div>\n
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SHADOW WAS \u00a0A \u00a0GRAND \u00a0PUP\u2026JUST TOO OBEDIENT SADLY<\/div>\n
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We kept one of the pups. \u00a0That\u2019s him with Tara above. \u00a0A cute perfectly marked tongue slobbering lover of the \u00a0world around him. \u00a0We called \u00a0him Shadow. \u00a0He got killed by a car. \u00a0Shadow was \u00a0just too obedient. \u00a0One day he went exploring down the street. \u00a0We did \u00a0not want our dogs loose.\u00a0 Marjorie called \u00a0him back. \u00a0I saw him. \u00a0He \u00a0stopped, raised \u00a0his head\u2026listened. \u00a0\u201cHere, Shadow, come here.\u201d \u00a0And then he \u00a0turned around and raced towards our house. \u201cStop Shadow, \u00a0Stop!\u201d \u00a0Too late… A car hit him. \u00a0Broke his legs. He could not be saved. \u00a0Authorities said \u00a0coonhounds were wanderers \u00a0and \u00a0they were stubborn.\u00a0 If Shadow had been such, he would have lived. \u00a0 Instead \u00a0he \u00a0was \u00a0obedient and \u00a0loved \u00a0his home (and his mom Tara).<\/div>\n
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Tara and \u00a0Shadow<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Just in case you ever see a \u00a0Black and Tan Coonhound, it could be a \u00a0descendent of Tara. \u00a0If it happens to be locked on another dog. \u00a0Do not panic. Do \u00a0not get a pail of water. \u00a0Just wait. They will unlock.<\/div>\n
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This was one of the last pictures I took of \u00a0Tara walking down a time tunnel after an \u00a0ice storm. \u201cHad an old dog and \u00a0his name was \u00a0Blue\u2026.You good dog you\u201d was \u00a0a pop folk song that always \u00a0brings back \u00a0memories of Tara.<\/div>\n
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alan skeoch\u2019<\/div>\n
Jan. 2018<\/div>\n
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P.S. \u00a0Black and \u00a0Tan coonhounds seem to have originated\u2026emerged as a distinct breed,..in medieval times. \u00a0 Back then they were<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

called \u00a0Talbot hounds. \u00a0This \u00a0painting of the first Talbot graces \u00a0the ceiling of the Dining Room of Sir Henry Vernon (1445 – 1515) who married Ann Talbot, \u00a0daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury. \u00a0 Back \u00a0then they \u00a0were white. \u00a0 I wonder if Ann Talbot was as \u00a0careful with her pups as \u00a0Marjorie was with ours.?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"Talbot<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMarjorie, the humane society just called, they have a black \u00a0and tan coonhound pup up here. \u00a0 Needs a home.\u201d \u201cTell them to \u00a0Hold her for us.\u201d \u201cAre you sure? \u00a0Coonhounds are hunting dogs.\u201d \u201cThey are so beautiful\u2026affectionate, \u00a0loyal\u2026shame to let that dog go too a gun lover.\u201d And so we \u00a0adopted our Tara. \u00a0She […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=364"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":391,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions\/391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}