You’re Bound to Get a Hound!

Do you know there are basically two kinds of hounds?  Both kinds are similar in that hounds were mainly used to hunt or find game.  They are very different in the manner that they locate other animals or people.  There are Sight Hounds and Scent Hounds and they are both great kinds of dogs.  You just have to figure out which is best for your family.

                Sight hounds are best known for their lean bodies and being very fast.  The ancient breed, the Greyhound, was born to run.  In fact, they were bred in Europe to out run deer!  Some other famous sight hounds are the Irish Wolf Hound and the Afghan Hound.  The Afghan Hound is featured in ancient Egyptian scrolls.  If you are a mover and a shaker, this is the kind of dog for you.  One sight hound, the Saluki, is used to hunt Gazelle.  That is fast.  So fast that this is a dog that could likely toss a Frisbee to itself.  If a Grey hound does not want to be caught, it won’t be!  This is why so many of our officers in the field carry dog treats with them.  We like to say that four feet are faster than two. 

                More common in shelters are Scent Hounds.  The most famous breeds of scent hounds are Beagles and Bassets unless you are a fugitive.  Blood Hounds have such accurate noses for locating fugitives or lost people that they are the only animal whose abilities are admissible as evidence in the American judicial system.  Scent hounds normally have large “droopy” ears.  Do you know why?  This is so that scent particles get directed to the nose (like a hand fanning a scent to your own nose).  They have a sense of smell far and away better than we humans do.  Blood Hounds have tracked fugitives with trails several days old.  The Beverly Hillbillies' Bloodhound Duke was portrayed as a lazy dog that just lies around all day. This is not like the breed at all; they are full of energy for the most part.  The reason scent hounds are more common in a shelter is this:  If the gate to a yard gets blown open, a dog like a Beagle like to wander and go smell things.  They tend to wander pretty long distances before they get bored.  For some reason, scent hounds have a hard time smelling their way back to their own home.  Scent hounds also frequently howl or bay.  This helps a pack of Beagles stay together when they go searching.  It also helps the owner find them.  Another thing which helps an owner find a hound is the fact that most scent hounds have a white tip on their tail.  This makes it easier to see them when they are moving through the undergrowth and the white tip is poking up.  Because scent hounds like to be in big groups, they normally also like to be in large families with lots of kids.  Good luck in keeping the Beagles from piling up in your bed with you when you sleep at night! 

                So is a hound right for you?  Come down to Pinellas County Animal Services and find out!  We have several scent hound mixes in our adoption area and we have a Beagle in our rescue program.  Beagles are very popular and there are many of them in homes. 

You can visit our website at www.pinellascounty.org/animalservices  to see adoption dogs.  Adoptions are on weekdays from 9-5:30pm and on Saturdays from 9-1pm.  Adoptions are temporarily lowered to $25 at least until the end of June.  All animals are spayed/neutered, dewormed, vaccinated, microchipped, come with a license, and more.

Don't forget to listen to us on WTIS 1110am on Saturday mornings from 11 to noon!