Riley's secret identity

i have today off work, so i took the boys in to see dr. heather. riley's back needed adjusting again from all of his trips up--and, more painful, down--the sides of trees. and boscoe's elbow hasn't been healing; despite the AJ costume, it's remained squishy and inflamed for five months.

while she readjusted riley's spine, i told her about how high he can run up trees--higher than doug's head, and he's 6'4".

"i bet he's part bluetick coon hound," she said, as she kneaded his back and he stared at me with his impassive riley eyes. "that's the only dog i know that runs right up the sides of trees." she stopped kneading and looked critically at riley. "he's got the tail," she said. "curving over the back that way. and the ears."

wow. all this time i thought he was lab-springer, with a little beagle. bluetick coon hound? that sounds so...Kentucky. but hell, i was born in kentucky. maybe it's meant to be.


i'd say that this (from a coonhound website) sounds very familiar:

If you want to train the dog the right way, socialization and obedience are an absolute must for the bluetick coonhound. This breed does not respond to harsh nor heavy-handed methods. Training must be done with patience, motivation, fairness, firmness and consistency. They usually excel in hunting, agility, and tracking ( it depends on the dog ). The bluetick coonhound breed is usually easily distracted by anything that is sniffable, making most offleash work (like recalls) rather challenging.

boscoe says he knew it all along, by the way. he said he could tell by riley's southern accent.

***CORRECTIONS: bluetick houndds are louisiana dogs, not kentucky dogs. and boscoe actually called riley's accent "hillbilly," not southern.