One day back when I was in high school I decided to make a rabbit hunt after school let out. I took our beagle, Dusty, who was also an indoor lap dog, to the woods behind our house.

After a while he gets on a trail of what was obviously an old, wiley swamp rabbit...that thing took Dusty on a quarter mile long, irregular loop. Eventually I could hear Dusty getting back closer to where the rabbit was jumped so I moved into a position to intercept it, but by this time the sun was getting real low. Then the dog goes silent and I figure now's a good time to go ahead and call it a day.

So I start calling and hollering for Dusty to come on. No dice. I keep yelling for another 20 minutes or so and it's just about dark when he starts yipping again, pretty close too. Suddenly from my right this huge rabbit comes bolting out of the brush and goes flying to my left. I had just enough time to throw up the gun in its direction and squeeze off a blast, but no time to aim. The rabbit kept going into a huge green brier patch. Oh well, I missed, just gotta make sure when Dusty comes following the trail that I'm able to grab him so we can go home.

A few seconds later here comes Dusty hot on the trail. I squat down to snatch his collar but he jukes me to the left and disappears into the briers.

shite!

I'm calling and yelling and cursing for him to get his arse back when he goes silent. I keep calling and yelling and my voice is just about shot. So I'm pissed off and trying to figure out how I'm going to find him in the dark woods when out of the brier patch comes Dusty with that big old rabbit in his mouth, drops him at my feet, gives it a lick or two around the 1 pellet wound that was in its chest, and starts walking towards the house.

Never had or heard of a beagle fetch a rabbit before or since. He was a good one.