A Very Beagle Christmas

The calendar has just turned to December but its already starting to feel pretty cold around Austin these days.  We all survived Winter Storm 2009 (that's what the local TV stations called the two snow flakes that landed in our county, in order to increase their ratings) but it is getting harder and harder to get Marshall to go out for his morning "business."  With the temperature below 40 some mornings I guess he can't be blamed.  Here's a nice shot of Marshall, still trying to understand why the leaves are falling so much these days.  His best guess: this is the snow they were talking about on TV.

Before the humans could get some holiday shopping in this weekend, Marshall had to be taken to his first Christmas gathering of the Austin Beagle Brigade (this is a Facebook page).  For those of you that have not ever attended, its mostly like the regular monthly meeting except there are group pictures and...gifts!  Let's start with the group picture.  That's Lori with Marshall standing in the center.

 We're still learning the names of his new friends but a couple definitely stood out this weekend.  First, please note this well dressed beagle, sporting the latest in winter fashion for the furry set.
 

And in this picture there are two good friends.  Hazel is the beagle on the left.  She is a bit older than some of the others and defended Marshall from some rough (but all in fun) play the others were having.  When Marshall rolled onto his back to go completely submissive, Hazel jumped in and literally stood over him to keep the others away.  I wonder if she is related to this Hazel, who also helped young ones in trouble.  On the right is Polo who like Marshall is also a veteran of Hound Rescue.

 

OK, now on to the really important part, according to Marshall...  So, all the toys are put out on the ground...  (please note that Marshall wrapped the one center right that has feet sticking out of the end)

...then each beagle is called up when its their turn to claim a gift however they choose: some did it with a sniff, some with a paw, and some with another form of marking.  Here's a shot of Marshall patiently but intently waiting his turn.

And when his turn came he claimed a wrapped reindeer stuffed animal.  He clawed open the wrapping with a little help from Jimmy and entertained the group with his chomper skills.

But as you know, Marshall is still young.  He doesn't understand that if you have a toy at the dog park its fair game for everyone.  He has mastered the art of retrieving and is getting pretty good at bringing it back to the humans.  However, he kept leaving it unattended as well and that left many opportunities for others to play with Mr. Reindeer.  He's a shot of Marshall hoping it will again be his turn with the new toy soon.