It wasn't Uno

Frankly, like many serious dog enthusiasts, I am tired of seeing Uno (the 2008 Best in Show Winner of the Westminster Kennel Club). He just seems to be taken out and shown just everywhere. Don't get me wrong he is a lovely dog. While I found him delightful when he won the coveted title 2 years ago, I am looking forward to seeing what dog will reign supreme this upcoming year.

While I have heard the praises of Uno over and over again, I must admit that I find it extremely ironic that it is a pack of beagles that is terrorizing the North Folk of Island. It seems that disatisfied hunters ditched dogs because they were not performing well in the field. As a result of their desperation, these dogs have become a crazed pack, chasing Orient Point residents and their pets home, even baying, jumping on their residents' doors to be let in and eventually, breaking them from persistence.

It certainly is not surprising since these dogs are starving, ferocious, cold, hungry and desperate after being abandoned by hunters. Think of Dan Ackroyd's character, Louis Winthrope III in Trading Places. Out of desperation, he performed he drank, pointed a gun and stole because he was hungry and cold. All because of the irresponsible acts of other human beings-just like these dogs.

According to Calverton's Kent Animal Shelter Pam Green, five dogs have been picked up on the North Fork so far this hunting season. She expects to see more when the season ends in a month.

As a result, animal activists are trying to help by publicizing the plight of the wild beagles and trying to find homes for them. Two shelters now have five former feral beagles up for adoption between them. And they said that with love and care these abandoned hounds can become loving pets once again.