Monkey’s House First Residents

Lucy & Mr. Peebody

It was a warm June day in 2015 when we received our first dogs into Monkey’s House, Lucy and Mr. Peebody. Sadly, a trio of beagles who've aged out of their usefulness as hunting dogs, found themselves dumped by their owner at a kill shelter. Thus handing them a death sentence. One of the beagles was adopted by a local veterinarian and we were blessed to get Lucy and Mr. Peebody, a.k.a. Mr. Pee. They were a bonded pair.

The term bonded pair is thrown around a lot in the rescue world; shelters try to keep best friends together when possible and urge that pairs be adopted by the same family. We had a few bonded pairs over the years. They all had a special connection but nothing like the connection between Lucy and Mr. Pee; they were truly inseparable. A loud snoring sound would always draw your attention toward Mr. Pee sleeping. But what would catch your eye was Lucy sleeping as close to him as possible. I would laugh as Lucy always had part of her body on top of Mr. Pee—a leg, her head—snuggled together like a typical sleeping couple. At times, you would see Mr. Pee squirming his body as if he were saying something like, “Move over, give me some room.” Did somebody say dogs are a lot like people? Mr. Pee truly loved Lucy. He slept with the biggest smile on his face when she was by his side.

When Lucy and Mr. Peebody first came to our farm, they lived in the barn. The thought of being in the house scared the heck out of them, which we quickly found out one day when we tried to bring them inside. Hunting beagles have outside pens with a small shelter. The transition to bringing them into the house took over a year. It took six months just to get them into the Cottage, which was their first step at getting acclimated to inside living. With all the comforts a home provides, they eventually thrived in that environment. At first, furniture was a new concept to them, but it didn’t take long for them to have their favorite comfy spots. Gradually, they were transitioned into the house. You would never have known they were outside dogs except for one little issue. Mr. Pee was true to his name and was never fully housebroken, although he tried his best.

Hiking in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

Walking the beagles is always a pleasure, but we quickly learned the walks had to be before 9 p.m. because Mr. Pee liked to sing on his walks. Depending on what animal scents were in the back field, he may end up singing the entire walk. His tenor didn’t match that of the great singer Luciano Pavarotti, but his volume may have surpassed Luciano’s! I’m sure the old farmhouse across the meadow heard Mr. Pee, and it wasn’t any opera they would want to hear as they started to get ready for bed. Besides Lucy’s sniffing sounds, she didn’t make a peep, but boy was her tail going a mile a minute the entire walk.

They loved life, especially our field trips. The favorite might have been our annual “Photos with Santa” event. It was not just the opportunity to sit on Santa’s lap, begging him to deliver the smelliest cod skin treats straight from the North Pole for Christmas. They loved it all, from having their favorite aunts dress them in their snappy holiday attire befitting proud beagles, to taking a ride together in Waggin’ One. They loved prancing around with all their furry friends, aunts and uncles, and finally to meeting Santa himself. This had to have been the best day of the year for them, completely the opposite of their past lives of being part of a hunting pack.

Visit with Santa was always their favorite.

On the first Santa event Lucy and Mr. Peebody attended they seemed to be in awe of it all. I was assisting Santa making sure all the dogs got up on Santa’s lap or next to his feet, ensuring their best sides were highlighted for the pictures. When I tossed Mr. Pee and Lucy on Santa’s lap, I swore I heard Mr. Pee ask Santa for a bigger bed, Lucy’s head quickly snapped to give him a look. She then proceeded to ask Santa for the smelly cod skin treats she so loved.

During all of this, I noticed Michele standing on the corner of the stage taking it all in with tears in her eyes. I asked her if she was okay, and she replied, “Things couldn’t be better. Lucy and Mr. Pee were slated to be destroyed. Instead, they’re here and enjoying themselves sitting on Santa’s lap.”

It’s okay if Santa’s not real… Monkey’s House is and surely makes dog’s dreams come true.