Face it, the dog has more fans than his daddy ever did. Ripley runs, jumps, swims, climbs trees - he's Wonder Dog. People come up to me and ask "how's Ripley?". Well, Ripley is wonderful and his medical adventures are hopefully behind him. As much as we all love Dr. Anne Chauvet, his specialist veterinarian, and Dr. Leigh Samowitz, his primary vet, we're happy that the days of surgical removal of peach pits and crushed disk back repair are over. After Anne repaired his back, we asked her "do you think we could get pet insurance for Ripley?" and she coyly replied "not any more".
He's pushing four now - that's 28 in human years - and he's become a great companion who loves his daddy (and his mommy too) but seems to be my dog early in the morning where he'll come jump in my lap and say "let's go walking". And despite the fact my wife thinks "you should never trust a beagle to not run away", I am proud to say that Ripley walks himself as much as having me holding that leash. When he starts to wander, all I need do is call his name and point my finger to the ground at my feet, and he returns for a head scratch and a "good boy" verbal praise. Riply is my sixth beagle, but my first boy - all five of the girls never paid attention as well as he, and hopefully his obedience never wanes.
I chose this recent picture for his friends - it's been on my FaceBook page as well (and perhaps even on Ripley Wild on FaceBook). He's actually been digitally caught on film so relaxed that he fell asleep as I worked on my laptop. The dog can sleep anywhere, but prefers to be on his back so he can get tummy rubs. In this shot, he's decided that my stomach made for a great pillow.
Perhaps the fact that I was in one of "his chairs", he decided to prove a point of ownership. Ultimately, when push comes to shove, most every chair in our home is Ripley's chair. Ripley is a real piece of work, but as canines go.....he's a masterpiece.
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