Ever ordered something online and ended up wrestling with the packaging when it arrives? It can be hard enough for humans armed with a knife or a pair of scissors, but imagine how frustrating it can get if you’re lacking opposable digits and only have your mouth to work with? And to make things worse, what if your sniffing gear informs you that there’s something tasty hidden deep inside all the shrink-wrap and cardboard?

The Beagle Customs officer on duty decides that this package warrants closer inspection..

..but with not one but two layers of shrink-wrap to get through, it’s tough work

Frustration mounts but this customs officer isn’t about to give up! Just look at the determination!

Finally she’s through the shrink wrap, and now only the cardboard box stands in her way

Almost there..

On second thoughts maybe it’s the human that should be pitied; a sharp knife and a pair thumbs seems to be a poor substitute for a good set of gnashers and Beagle single-mindedness. I decided to stop this particular unwrapping frenzy just as Beanie tore the corner off the cardboard box. I wasn’t too worried about damage to the contents so much as rapid consumption of it, because what the box contained was very much a Beagle thing: 4kg of tasty Sea Jerky Squares from Fish4Dogs, bought during their two-for-one promotion.

I wonder how long it would have taken Beanie to chomp her way through the whole lot if I hadn’t rescued it?

Doggies shouldn’t eat human junkfood (and neither should humans, if truth be told), but this half-eaten hotdog comes with zero calories and plenty of squeak. It was also completely free! I spotted it when I was last in Pets At Home getting Biggles’ “Woof” bowl. It was all on its own, lying unpriced atop a pile of rather expensive full-sized hotdogs. As it was half the size of the others I figured it should be half the price, and took it to the checkout. Beanie & Biggles really turned on the charm as we waited to pay, and the awfully nice sales person let us have it free as it was the very last one in the store.

Back at home I expected that Biggles would go wild about it because he’s normally keen on squeaky things, but he showed no interest at all. Beanie on the other hand loved it to bits and immediately took it on a high-speed tour of the garden. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about Beanie: when she’s happy, she really shows it. She pranced and bounded round the garden with the hotdog – all ears, paws and squeaks – for a solid 10 minutes just like a little pup! Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that she’s going to be 5 later this year; only the increasingly white fur round her eyes gives the game away.

When the victory laps of the garden finally did stop I had to move in quickly to rescue the hotdog before it got chewed to death, but that didn’t entirely stop Beanie’s celebrations…

Even if you’ve had a hotdog, you can still have an extra roll…

or two..

A little Beagle boy called Louis got spooked in a thunderstorm at 11am this morning and ran off. He hasn’t been seen since.

He went missing at Pound Farm Woodland Walk in Framlingham, Suffolk. If you live in the area please do all you can to help spread the word. If you have a website, facebook, twitter or similar please do all you can to make sure as many people as possible are looking for Louis.

Louis’s owners are on holiday. He was being looked after by someone else. They won’t get home until tomorrow. Obviously they are quite distraught.

Please make a big effort to spread the word – especially if you live in the area.

UPDATE: Louis is safely back with his owners. Like a true Beagle he evaded capture for a few nights until he tired of his solo adventure, then trotted back into his owners’s waiting car, oblivious to all the worry and stress he’d caused!