AJ the Great Beagle

We adopted AJ seven years ago in January 2015 from Animal Friends in Pittsburgh, PA. He was a rescue dog. We were told that he was rescued wandering the streets of Indiana, PA. There was a house fire in the area and AJ may have been a family member of that home. AJ was 2 years old when he came to his new home with our family. His name was initially Almond because of his almond color face. He did not respond well to Almond, and we did not like the name either. My sons decided to name him AJ after the great football player AJ Green. My sons are football players and have loved the game since they were toddlers. I was not a lover of dogs until AJ. I noticed he was very quiet, observant, curious and funny. He always made it his business to make sure my sons and I were safe. He did not like people standing too close to us. He would bark and push them back. He did not like when we cooked either. Whenever we started cooking any meal, he would run upstairs and hide. It was the smell and occasional smoke from the bacon or fried chicken. I believed it triggered whatever happened on that day that he was rescued. I am certain that he was in that house fire. I’m not sure what happened to the owners, but he was alone and I’m sure he was scared. The years have gone by and AJ is better with sticking around the kitchen while we cook. He doesn’t go and hide anymore. I believe he faced his fears. He has taught me and my sons a lot about overcoming. Just face your fears and you’ll realize that you have more power. The things that seem to overtake us, we can overtake it. We can’t run from it. AJ sure put up a fight. He stopped running. As he got older, he stopped doing a lot of things. He used to jump all over the furniture. Now he’s 9 years old and cannot jump on the furniture. So, we bought him his own furniture and he loves it. He knows what he can do. He realizes that he’s older now. He still responds the same way we respond. We are a relaxed family. If sirens or helicopters are flying by, he looks at us to see our reaction. If we are calm, he remains calm. If we get scared, he gets defensive. He becomes AJ the great beagle! He wants to rescue us just like he was rescued! We realized that he really loves us and wants to protect us at all costs. He checks our rooms at night to make sure everyone is safe and in bed then he goes into my oldest son’s room and will get into his own bed that is in the corner of the room. My sons are away in college and I’m an empty nester. I moved AJ’s bed from my son’s room to my room. After all, it’s just the two of us, AJ and me. He misses my sons while they are away at school. I notice that he lays outside of their bedroom doors. One year he fell into depression and was sick because he thought they were not coming back. My sons are like his brothers. He watches movies with them and even watches them play video games. My sons are now a Sophomore and Junior in college. He has adapted and knows that when they leave, they will be back again. All of his attention is now on me while they’re away. He follows me into every room. He wants to protect me and keep me from all danger. I love AJ. We all do. He has rescue indebted in him. After all, he is AJ the great beagle and rescue is his mission.