It dawned on me....

I have not officially introduced Mr. Judd.

The reason is twofold.

1) I've been afraid someone is going to claim him (especially after coming home Thursday afternoon & finding he was missing).

2) I've just failed to do it!

So I am pleased to introduce you to the newest member of the Eldridge family....Judd.

The dog that appeared in our backyard

who became Judd to us

{He's such a lovely little guy}

The camera flash makes him blink almost every time...bless his heart!

Now for the story of how we acquired him as the newest member of our family.

Last Sunday morning, I let Lucy outside & she went crazy barking (which is not UNusual). Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another dog. Not sure whether he was mean or not, I was a little unsure. Lucy's chased him around the yard, nipping at his heels & I quickly found it wasn't violent. Not sure how he got there, I couldn't leave his bony little beagle to starve. So I slowly gained his trust & brought him a little food & water. We left him outside all day in case someone was driving around looking for their pet. No one came. We found out that our neighbor put him in our backyard the night before, thinking he was Lucy (we were out of town). So now we're seriously thinking we've got somebody's pet. After talking to another neighbor (we have a GREAT set of them), Judd had apparently been roaming in a developing neighborhood for over a week. So we took him to the vet & he as healthy as a horse. Not even worms! His behavior combined with his health condition made it hard to believe that he didn't belong to someone. But on the other hand, he clearly hadn't been eating much because he was bone thin.

A week later, here we are. Judd is our new dog. He's got his own bed & bowl & he's officially part of the Eldridge clan. Lucy has slowly adjusted to him. She's been a bit tempermental & protective of her "stuff," but she's a great big sister. She's learning that we don't love him anymore, he just requires more of our attention because he can be a bit unruly. We remind her that she once behaved just as he is now. She's warming up.

Two beagles. Who woulda thunk it?