Larry Athey of Minatare got his first beagle in 2001. Since then, he’s owned six other beagles, including his last four that he adopted from Kindness Ranch Animal Sanctuary, a place in Hartville, Wyoming, that rescues former research and lab animals. Athey said his dogs depend on him as much as he depends on them for happiness.
JEFF FIELDER Editor
MINATARE – Back when Larry Athey of Minatare was about 35 years old, he decided he wanted to get a dog.
“I had a cat, but the cat really didn’t intrigue me,” he said. “The cat didn’t do much. It was just kind of there. I wanted a pet that would be a little more fun – a dog that I could play catch with.”
So, Athey started doing a little research about the best breeds of dogs. Around that same time, he watched a news story on television about how beagles were being used by the Transportation Security Administration to sniff for bombs and drugs at airports. The beagles caught Athey’s attention.
“Nobody was taking offense to the beagles snooping through their packages because they were small, timid and friendly,” said Athey, who’s 53 now. “I thought to myself, ‘This seems like a great dog. Everyone trusts a beagle.’ I decided that’s the kind of dog I wanted.”
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