It’s hard to believe it, but the Beanster is four years old today. There’s a touch of grey creeping in around her face now, but most people who meet her for the first time assume she’s still a puppy and that Biggles is the oldest in our pack. That’s due in part to an endearing trait she’s retained from her time as a zero-year-old: a smile-inducing full body wag that breaks out the instant a friendly face approaches her. These days that wag sometimes has a cynical motive behind it though; it invariably causes the approaching human to bend down to pet Beanie, placing pockets and/or shopping at the perfect height for a lightening fast raid. She hasn’t made any big scores this way of late though, for which I’m grateful, because trips to the vet to induce vomiting don’t come cheap!

Beanie’s new found maturity has changed her in a number of ways. For example, she’s recently acquired a taste for tea. Whenever a hot new beverage appears on the scene she feigns sleep, waiting for it to cool. Then, the instance it’s left unguarded there’s a Beanie snout in the cup and the lapping and slurping noises begin.

She’s also become much more tolerant of affection. In the past, any attempt to cuddle or kiss her would result in her scarpering almost immediately. Now, she frequently presents her cheeks for kisses on a morning when we open the crates and let our two into bed with us for snuggle time. Biggles presents his cheeks too, but more often than not it’s the rear ones and I’m not so keen on kissing them.

So, how does a Beagle princess celebrate her fourth birthday? Well today was a very low key affair. She accompanied us on a shopping trip to Ayr (Mountain Warehouse in Ayr actually allows dogs inside the shop) and on the way back to the car she cleaned the streets of just about every discarded chip and lunchtime sandwich. Later she had  a couple of madcap chases round the garden..

practiced her treat-catching skills..

and devoured a tasty pigs ear. So, not bad, but not great either. The thing she doesn’t realize yet is, the real birthday treatment is coming tomorrow and over the next few days..