IN MEMORIUM
Ginger, The Redbone Coonhound
2/2000 – 4/2012
Most people didn’t understand Ginger. I even had a friend’s husband once tell me ‘I’d shoot that dog if it were mine.” Well, luckily she wasn’t, so she lived to a ripe old age, for her breed. What most people didn’t understand is that she was bred to be an independent thinker…a characteristic highly prized by those who hunt coons, bear and mountain lion. Yep that is what Ginger was bred to hunt, she never did, her life was a life of luxury as a well loved pet.
Ginger, moments after she arrived
at our house, 4 months old.
She was bred into a kennel of champion Redbones in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I found her on the internet months after we lost our first Redbone, Rusty. On a Sunday afternoon in June 2000 I drove to Ft. Wayne and she came home with me…and that began the adventure. I fell instantly in love with her desire to please, her beautiful copper penny coat , the big brown eyes that could turn on the begging charm whenever needed and… her independent thinking.
She was a good dog, except for the trouble that her nose created for her. She was a scent hound, she could scent the air or the ground and true to her breed, I do believe her nose was second only to that of a Bloodhound. Her favorite game as a pup was for me to hide her ball anywhere in the house and then leap into action on the command ‘Find’. She would find that ball no matter where I put it within a couple of minutes.
Ginger in her prime
Of course her nose created problems regarding ‘people food’. As the grand-babies came along they were an easy target. Animal Crackers in a toddler’s hand…gone instantly. Cooking in the kitchen was an obstacle course; Ginger could not keep out from under our feet, no matter how many ‘Sit’ ‘Stays’ we gave her. Garbage cans had to be modified. Guests warned that if they had food in their purses to be sure they were out of her reach.
There is no doubt that her greatest joy was running free in the woods. There were several times I thought she was gone for good. I of course should have kept her on leash, but the temptation was just too great….she loved to run. She would pick up a scent and there was no calling her back. The worst was in Kentucky near the Cumberland Gap, she took off one morning and it was after lunch when she returned.
She did get to tree a coon once!! Some poor sucker roamed onto our property late in an afternoon. Ginger picked up that scent in a flash and before I knew what was happening she was trying to climb a Pin Oak Tree where the coon was safely perched. There is nothing like a Coonhound, coon treed, front paws leaning against the trunk of the tree, head thrown back howling like a banshee. Ginger could do it with the best of them, I’m sure.
So today we had to send this sweet creature on the path over the Rainbow Bridge. I will miss her deeply. But she is on the other side, waiting there for another run with her favorite playmate.
Ginger as the ole Lady.