Hi, pet buddies! Up ‘till last week, I don’t think I’d ever met an actual bloodhound, and I was pretty stoked! Was she a detective? Did she do exciting, secret stuff? Did she have a curvy pipe and one of those funny plaid hats?
Turns out I’d been reading too many detective stories. Sammi Jo Geisz is a friendly, laid-back girl. A BIG girl, about 120 I should think, with a black-and-tan coat, a huge head, and very friendly, wrinkly face. And a coffee table-clearing tail! And you should SEE those PAWS! She lives in Sebastian with her humans, Chuck and Marcy.
By way of greeting, Sammi Jo let out this big, deep, impressive BOOOOF. Just one. Not really scary, but I did feel some vibration under my paws. I took a breath, and approached for the wag-and-sniff.
She had a nice, low, sorta sultry voice. “It’s a real pleasure, Mr. Bonzo. And here’s my human Mommy and Daddy, and my bouncy brother Scooter – he’s a Malti-Poo.“
Scooter was all over the place, boing-boing-boinging.
“I’m happy to meet you all,” I said. We settled in and I got out my notebook. I had heard about Sammi Jo at the Sebastian July 4th parade, where her Dad had this cool teal and black 1946 Dodge truck with “Second Hand Bloodhounds” written on the sides. Keen-eyed newshound that I am, I had naturally asked about it.
“So, tell me all about you,” I encouraged her.
“I’ve been here about three years now. Mommy and Daddy totally love bloodhounds – got their first one back in the olden days, the ‘70s. Another one, Dixie, came from the state prison near Chattanooga.
“A bloodhound with a Criminal Record?” I was astonished.
“Oh, no, silly! She worked there. She helped catch escaped bad guys. Then she accidentally had puppies and Mommy and Daddy got one – that was Dixie. But me they got from Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Wellington. I was in a foster home but it didn’t work out. Us Bloodhounds are a lot to take care of.
“Nobody’s sure exactly how old I am, somewhere around 8 or 9. My name used to be Sandy, but Mommy and Daddy had had a previous dog named Sandy, so Mommy thought Samantha, and they can call me Sammi Jo. It’s close so I wouldn’t be too confused, but different, which I really like.“
“Me, too!” I agreed. “Since your ancestors and their famous noses found lost humans and stuff, do you, like, use your sniffer a lot?”
“I do have a very fabulous nose, but I mostly use it to find FOOD. Mommy and Daddy say I’m a Kitchen Counter Surfer. One time I got an entire pie! And once there was this big steak.” (She paused for a moment, probably imagining that steak.) “And a nice bag of potatoes. Oooh, and I love tomatoes. I mean, if it’s out there on the counter, it’s for me, right? Mommy and Daddy had a garden once, but … I ate it. I have good ears, too. From anywhere in the house, I can hear the fridge or the microwave open. I especially like fruits and veggies. Just gimme a nice crispy carrot.”
“Whaddya do for fun?”
“I go for leash walks every day. Us bloodhounds HAVE to always be leashed outside ‘cuz, once we get a scent, our noses are right on the ground and we totally concentrate, start running, never look up and don‘t stop for anything. So we could get hit by a bus or something. Sometimes I do catch a fascinating scent on the breeze, then Mommy or Daddy have to just pick up the pace and trot along. I have a nice big backyard to play in, too. And look!” She pointed to a super-sized dog door which let out to the screened porch. “I can go out to the porch whenever I want, and there’s another dog door out there so I can zip out to the backyard. Cool, huh?”
“Very!” I said.
“Me and Scooter do go for rides in the big van. That’s pretty fun, and we have a big basket of chewy toys, but I think my favorite thing’s just lounging around with Mommy and Daddy. When they have to go out, Scooter goes to his room and I get the run of the house, EXCEPT, for some reason, Mommy and Daddy have a gate that blocks off the kitchen.
As we were yapping, I noticed a bunch of drool forming on her mouth and starting to sort of drip down. I didn’t want to be rude, so I said, “Er, you have this little,” I put my paw up to my mouth, “this little, er …”
I was surprised when she laughed. “Oh, I KNOW. That’s one of the fun things about being a Bloodhound. The Drool Factor! We are great droolers. It just comes natural. Watch this!”
She slurped around a little bit, ‘till there was, like, a LOT of drool hanging from her mouth. Then she shook her head enthusiastically! 360 degrees of Projectile Drool. I’d never seen anything like it! Ever!
“That was … amazing!” I managed, trying to be inconspicuous as wiped off my ears and shoulders with my paw.
“I KNOW!” she said with pride. “Isn’t it FUN? Mommy and Daddy have to repaint the walls every year or so because of the drool marks. PLUS, they have special drool towels they hand out to guests.” She pointed to one hanging on a hook by the front door.
“That is Really Special,” I said. I wanted to fall on the floor laughing but I controlled myself. It wasn‘t easy, either.
Too soon, it was time to leave. When I got home, I began to think about Sammi Jo happily flinging drool everywhere – and fell on the floor laughing.
