Over the years Beanie and Biggles have encountered a variety of objects that have washed up on our local beach: bottles of milk that went off ages ago (tasty), seal carcasses (tremendous rolling opportunity), entire trees (always worth peeing on) and even a deceased cow locked by rigor mortis into a kind of Saturday Night Fever John Travolta dance pose (best ignored, back away slowly while avoiding eye contact). Lost dog toys are also a regular find and sometimes the pups even decide to bring one of them home, but despite repeated pleas for assistance I wasn’t at all interested in dragging this enormous yellow Kong-on-a-chain back to the van.

Complain all you like Beanie, but you’re on your own with that thing!

Fortunately even the biggest and best Kong in the world gets forgotten when there’s an abundant supply of hotdog slices to nibble on, horse tracks to follow (in the wrong direction, naturally) and foam galoshes to put on one’s little furry feet.

Going by the heavy snoring and dream-woofing that followed this outing I’d say both of them had fun, and hopefully there’s more of that to come next week when Beanie – incredibly – becomes a teenager in human years.

Soon to be 13!

Will she start to behave like a mature Beagle lady after her birthday?

I’m thinking not!