Can you Hear me Now?

Recently I saw a brace of beagles put on an absolutely outstanding performance. How outstanding was it? One could only hope to see such a run. Not only was the run great but the handlers were professional and the gallery behaved. I was also impressed with how intent the judges were as they followed this outstanding pair of hounds.

The handler with the dog drawn first was careful not to walk on the line and like a good sportsman, he eased his dog past the first 2 or 3 tracks to give the back dog something to work with. Then both handlers simultaneously worked their dogs on the line. Both dogs opened on the first track they were given. Instinctively, both handlers led the dogs straight to the next track and both hounds tongued again at the same time. And just like that, both handlers unsnapped their hounds.

The hounds seem to track like robots. They went straight to the next track, briefly setting up in the track and then stretched straight to the next one. The hounds were completely under control and they controlled the line. There was no wasted motion. No side to side movement with the feet or the head. No feeling or popping off the line. They were relaxed but intently locked on and progressing the line one track at a time with total accuracy. It was a thing of beauty.

Even though both hounds were calm, you could see their determination. It was as if they were thinking about the next track and nothing else. At no time did they let up or give that about to quit look. They didnt take the line for granted and try to luck into the next track. Nor did they hang up and dwell in a track a real long time either. The front dog didnt create any checks that werent there and the back hound had no trouble in telling the difference between rabbit tracks and dog tracks.

You could tell both hounds were tracking their own rabbit and neither one of them wanted to make a mistake. The longer they ran the more obvious it became these hounds had more than just style. They had the brains, nose, control, and concentration necessary to track a rabbit wherever it went. They could turn a rabbit, they could stay at a check, they could figure it out and they could continue to track it accurately.

After the hounds tracked the rabbit straight down a path and straight through an intersection, like it wasnt even there, the rabbit turned off into the cover. The front dog stopped in the last track on the path. He stood there for a moment and slowly turned his head and body as he got direction from the scent. The back dog, which had been about 2 jumps behind, now closed to 1 track back. Then the front dog stretched into the cover and got his nose on the next track while his back feet were still on the last track in the path. I mean he squared that turn as tight as possible and took it straight in there. After the back dog moved up to the last track on the path, he too made the same exact turn.

Now we had an opportunity to see the hounds in the cover. And they tracked it the same way they did on the path. The front dog continued to be straight as a die and never changed gears. The back dog was straight, got every track for himself, demonstrated patience, but stayed in the run and never once attempted to get under the front dog.

Then it happened, right in the middle of the cover section. Just when you thought the front dog couldnt make a mistake, the next track seemed to have disappeared. He didnt panic but he did ease forward just barely off the end of the line. When he turned to go back to the point, the back hound had already stepped up to that track and tongued. And as the back hound was tonguing the track, he methodically turned his head and body. It was almost like he knew this was why he was along on the run and it was his time to square a turn. Now we had a new front hound since he stepped ahead right to the next track.

Now you had to wonder: 1) can the original back dog now run the front as well as the other hound did; 2) can the original front dog now track his own rabbit from behind and behave as well as the other one did; 3) if they both do as well in the opposite positions over a comparable segment, will the new front dog make a slight mistake; 4) if the new front dog does make a mistake, will the other hound capitalize on it.

As the run continued through the cover section, it struck me that the gallery and the handlers were being extremely quiet. In fact, no one had said a word. It was perfect, at least for me. Everyone was focused on the hounds. No one was shooting their mouth off about the run. No one was popping off about wins, or being in second series every time, or the breeding, for the benefit of the judges ears. No one asked why the judges were running them so long. Neither handler ever got slightly ahead to get in the judges peripheral vision, in order to take their lead off their shoulder when they thought it would be to their advantage to encourage the judges to order the hounds up. None of that baloney was going on which, other than being an annoyance, wouldnt effect the actions of good judges anyway.

So the new front hound continued to track the rabbit accurately through the cover and the new back hound ran his position extremely well. Both hounds were straight and tight to the line. When they got to the path, the new front dog made another sharp turn as the rabbit had turned and gone down the path. The back dog never fumbled and made the same exact turn. This was a run. This was a two-dog run that no body would forget. No falling off the front, no falling off the back, and no walking around. Only one time so far had a dog stepped off the line and this was after he had controlled the front for a ways on a path and in some cover. But, to the credit of the other hound, he picked up the ball where his bracemate dropped it and he still had it.

When they came to an intersection, both hounds tracked straight on as they had the previous intersection, when their roles were reversed. Nobody had told these hounds about intersection wind currents or whatever it is that makes so many hounds come unglued at cross paths. These hounds remained locked on and no one wanted to stop watching them.

Then I looked up and standing directly in front of the hounds, not 20 feet ahead, was some jerk wearing a Verizon wireless shirt with a cell phone to his ear. And you guessed it; he said, Can you hear me now? Good. And while Im trying to figure out a way to deck this guy without interfering with the hounds, the hounds disappeared. Then the gallery was gone. Then I sat up in bed. Then it hit me, an outstanding run cut short all because a company wore out their commercial during the NBA Championship playoffs and every baseball game I have watched on TV since then. I dont even watch TV that much. Whoever heard of not being able to finish a dream because of a commercial. I may give up TV.