Coonhound

by Lew
(Independence, WV)

Rosko

Yeah, I know - the Coonhound is not your standard favorite dog, unless you live in certain areas. Ours appeared under one of our shrubs. Beaten, missing the tip of his tail and some hair, he was totally afraid of people and had no clue what dog food was. Today, he is a member of the family that includes an elderly Golden Retriever that does not hear, see, or walk well.

It took Rosko, a while to adjust, but he now considers all of our 80 acres to be his domain and protects it fiercely. Nothing barks, burps, or makes an unusual sound that he does not want to investigate and bark at. And yes, that is a problem in warm weather when the air is full of scents. Baying and treeing raccoons and stray cats is his specialty, but so far we have not found it particularly useful.

At 70 pounds, Rosko is a substantial Coonhound that requires a lot of exercise. As you may have suspected, protecting the property and treeing whatever will climb a tree gives him a good workout. He would also like to tree any vehicle that comes up the driveway and has a particular lust for the UPS delivery guy. Nothing - and I do mean nothing - gets past Rosko.

Rosko spends most of his time outside, but is also a house visitor where he is polite for the most part. However, you do have to be prepared for an occasional middle of the night bay when he hears/smells something of interest.

He is smart, but more so in his own milieu than in handy household things. Relatively speaking, our Golden is without question an Einstein by comparison in everything except chasing and treeing critters. At dinner time, the Golden sits patiently awaiting vittles, while Rosko watches all the preparation as if it were rocket science!

Rosko is also an excellent companion who is always interested in whatever you are doing. Unless, of course, he spies some unusual activity. And if you have a hankering for animal carcasses, he'll bring them to you no matter what they weigh.