The First Beagle

After we moved into our house on 40 acres in rural Moniteau County, I realized there were plenty of rabbits to hunt just out the back door. They were abundant, and I hunted most weekends during the winter with my Lab. For reasons I don't completely understand, I never thought of getting a beagle to hunt with, which is a popular and traditional way to hunt rabbits in Missouri.

One day I came home from work late as usual after an extra-long day. Our oldest son, who was 10 at the time, was sitting on the back porch petting a puppy, a beagle mix of some kind. I knew he had found this dog because stray dogs and cats were always showing up on our place dropped off by people who didn't know what else to do with them. We weren't running a stray animal shelter, so I would take care of the walk-ons telling our sons that I delivered them to a place where they were loved and cared for adequately. I told our son he could take this puppy back where he found it or give it to me and I would take care of it. He looked up at me with big defiant eyes that gave me a glimpse of the dark teenage years on the horizon and said, "Dad, I think we'll wait until Mom gets home to make that decision." You can imagine my shock at being overruled, outsmarted and neutralized by a ten year old.

Of course, when Mrs. Urich got home, she fell in love with the puppy and bonded with it immediately as it melted into her arms. The family was united against me on this. I'm not too fond of it when that happens.

They named the dog Abby and added further affront by Mrs. Urich was delighted with the addition of the rabbit making Abby an indoor dog. Abby and I coexisted over dogs because we were gone frequently during the winter the summer, but she was always suspicious of me and on the weekends giving her peace, quiet and time to kept her distance. herself at home. She was less tolerant of our protracted That fall, I was hunting rabbits on our place with my Lab. spent five days hunting in west-central Missouri. She felt Abby, grown now, came along uninvited. Suddenly, she this time of the year was family time so I was mindful to started baying and chasing a rabbit bringing it back to invite her along but she always declined. me to shoot. Whoa. This added a new dimension to rabbit hunting and was way better than jumping them up with a One of our more memorable rabbit hunts was on the Labrador. Paint Brush Prairie Conservation Area in Pettis County I knew about rabbit hunting in Missouri with beagles but times over the years. A woody draw through the middle never considered owning one. By the following fall we of the west side of the prairie was always loaded with had a pack of 6 beagles. I spent the summer with our sons rabbits. One year after we arrived for a mid-January hunt, teaching them how to train beagles, a process I knew the boys looked out onto the prairie from the truck with nothing about. All we did was let the beagles out on our shock and disappointment. 40 acres and Abby did everything else. She was an excellent teacher. I had a new fondness and respect I knew about rabbit hunting The entire prairie was black, having been burned sometime in the fall or for Abby, but I still chaffed over her in Missouri with beagles but winter. I smiled and reassured them indoor living privilege. never considered owning they were about to have the best rabbit hunt of their lives. They were I knew that rabbit hunting would one. By the following fall we suspicious thinking they were in for be a great way to introduce our kids to hunting. It's fast-paced, there's lots of shooting, and there were had a pack of 6 beagles. I spent the summer with our a long, forced hike in the freezing cold over a black, burned, rabbit-less desert. rabbits everywhere plus we could sons teaching them how to hunt anytime on our land at the spur of the moment. We constructed train beagles, a process I We walked six beagles, a basset hound, a Labrador and a Vizsla on outdoor kennels in the backyard knew nothing about. leashes out to the woody draw and for the dogs. I promoted our sons let them go. Two minutes later the to the rank of Canine Technician dogs had divided into two groups responsible for the care and maintenance of the pack as both chasing separate rabbits down the draw. All the their contribution to this new endeavor. rabbits that were usually spread out in the native grass I bought a clay rabbit thrower and taught our sons to When they ran out onto the burned area they were easy lead a rabbit that is running away or sideways to them. to see. They loved these practice sessions and of course, used up absences between Christmas and New Year's when we near Sedalia. We hunted rabbits on this prairie many were confined to the mostly unburned woody draw. a lot of ammunition. So I purchased reloading equipment It was a fast-paced hunt with a huge amount of shooting and taught them how to reload their own shells. If they and missing. A rabbit can pick up speed in a hurry when wanted to practice shooting, they had to reload shells, there is no vegetation to run through. My sons frequently finally with practice reaching my goal of only two duds boasted about their shooting prowess but they were per box of 25 shells. humbled on this hunting trip. I smiled and internalized very appropriate remarks, although if I missed they immediately offered disparaging comments. Sometimes parents have to bite the bullet and take the high road. I'm excellent at this.

Another hunter observed from the parking lot what was happening, drove his truck to the end of the burned portion of the prairie and ran across to the unburned woody draw to block. This was presumptuous and inappropriate in my opinion but there was nothing to do about it. I was worried about his dog awareness because we had 9 dogs running around in the draw chasing 1 to 4 rabbits at a time.

It took us almost 2 hours to walk less than ¼ mile. The rabbits tried to elude the dogs and hunters by going behind us back up the draw which ended on the west end at Highway 65. We would run after the dogs to catch them before they got to the highway because the rabbits either ran along the right-of-way or across the highway. Beagles are very bad about not pausing and checking both ways before crossing a road.

We finally finished up walking the ¼ mile to the end of the burned portion of the prairie. We all had a limit of rabbits, including the uninvited blocker. He was so excited and thanked us profusely for a great rabbit hunt. Then he pulled $200 out of his wallet and offered to buy two of the beagles, which we declined. On the way home, the boys chatted continuously in the truck about this amazing rabbit hunt and asked if I knew of any other burned prairies.

They recounted their shooting successes glossing over any misses plus dwelled on the few misses I experienced. I reminded them we had an hour and a half of rabbit cleaning in the cold shed when we got home. I also wondered what I was going to do with 24 cleaned rabbits. Over the years, we had driven the taste for a rabbit out of Mrs. Urich, and she no longer allowed them to be cooked in the house.

Their excited banter continued in the truck until we got home. We cleaned the rabbits and put the dogs into their kennels. Abby followed me into the house and laid down on her pillow in the kitchen to lick her feet.

She was about 11 years old now and had trained almost a dozen beagles and basset hounds. She was still the lead beagle. No matter which beagle struck a rabbit trail first, she moved to the front and led the beagles on the chase.

I realized she had made a huge contribution to our lives and I was very comfortable with her being an indoor dog. More importantly, I was so thankful that years earlier my oldest son looked up at me defiantly and said, "Dad, I think we'll wait until Mom gets home to make that decision.”

David Urich

(Top) David Urich (left) with sons Aaron, Tim and Kirk after one of our traditional Thanksgiving morning rabbit hunts on our 40 acres in Moniteau County. Abby is the third beagle from the right. (Photo: Courtesy of David Urich)

(Front) Aaron (left). Kirk and Tim Urich plus Abby, the first beagle, and Ed the Vizsla taking a break during a west central Missouri rabbit hunt. (Photo: Courtesy of David Urich)