Hudson was rescued by B.O.N.E.S. from a bad situation in Limington, ME. After the gentleman called 911 (and subsequently passed away), the local ACO found 20 dogs living in squalid conditions.
B.O.N.E.S. took most of them and found them new homes. Overall, Hudson was in very good shape but when he had his physical, they found a serious mast cell tumor in his nose. As much as possible was removed.
B.O.N.E.S. wanted to find a wonderful home for Hudson and we did. John is a long-haul trucker that had lost his beagle companion of 13 years. He wanted a new companion. Luckily John found Hudson (or Hudson found John). It was a wonderful match. Hudson reported in regularly, and we share his "Chronicles" on this page.
Good morning from Durham, ME.
John and I are home for a few days getting caught up on things. We have had lots of home time so far this year which makes John nervous. I don't understand this. I think it's great! I can lay around all day in the recliner, go out and play with Brody and Lily, next door, as well as Alyssa and Bryan. John keeps mumbling something about money, whatever that is. He just needs to relax, eat, and sleep, and he will see what I'm talking about.
Anyway, enough about his problems.
Our last leg home from the last update was quite a project. John had a big plow truck to load in Homer, NY coming right back here to Durham. The day before we were to load the truck, John found out the truck was going to be way to high to fit on the trailer without wiping out overpasses, toll booths, and whatever else was hanging over the hi ways. After several phone calls between the customer and shipper, they decided to take the wheels off the truck to get it down to height.
We arrived at the town garage in Homer, NY Wednesday night, and the next morning started the process of getting the truck loaded. First, they drove the truck onto the trailer, and then loaded the big, I mean HUGE, V-plow. This was one serious plow truck! Then they spent about half an hour scratching their heads. It's always fun watching humans do this. pretty soon two front end loaders came out from the garage and then things began to happen. They would jack up one wheel at a time, come under it with a fork lift and take the wheel off. Then, the front end loader would come under the axle hub with it's bucket and hold it in the air while the guys went over to the other side, and repeated the process. Now, with two loaders holding the rear of the truck in the air, they lowered the truck down onto blocks. It was like some kind of heavy equipment ballet. The guys really looked like they knew what they were doing. Then, they went to the front of the truck and did the same thing all over again. The whole process took about eight hours, two front end loaders, one fork lift, and six guys. They also had to take apart some of the front tower for the wing blade, which was also too high.
Finally, about three o clock, we were ready to head for home. The one problem was that we were heading right into the biggest blizzard to hit New England in recent years. The load was twelve feet wide, so we needed permits. As you might remember, we can't travel after dark, in most cases, but if we could get onto the New York Thruway, we could travel that toll road as well as all the interstates in MA after dark. The storm was to hit Friday morning and John wanted to get as far as he could today so we could beat the storm home. Oversize loads aren't allowed to travel when visibility and road conditions are poor, so he was under pressure to hightail it home.
As I said, we were finally chained down and ready to go about three o clock, with about two hours to drive until we got to the thruway. We were racing against daylight and it was going to be close.
After about an hour and a half, we were about fifteen minutes away from the thruway, it was dark, and John was pushing his luck. He didn't have much choice, if he didn't want to spend three days stuck out over the weekend. Five minutes from the thruway and he is starting to relax, until he see's the state trooper in the median! Fortunately, the trooper stays there and doesn't bother us. We made it to the tool booth, and ran all the way to the New Hampshire state line that night.
The next morning, we got up to snow on the hood. There was about an inch so far and we only had 97 miles to go...no problem. We headed out and crossed into Maine and as soon as we approached the Maine Turnpike, John saw signs saying hat permit loads were restricted from the turnpike! Well, I guess we go to plan B he said, and off the exit we went, onto route 1. Again, John is taking a risk, because he is off route from what the permit specifies, and he is driving during bad weather, But who is going to care on a day like today? My guess would be the state trooper we just met going the other direction, because he turned around right after he passed us. I'll refrain from repeating what John's comment was, although, I'm sure you can pretty much guess. The trooper followed us for a few miles and then he turned onto a side road. What a relief for john. I really didn't care what would have happened, all I have to do is look cute and I always get out of trouble.
The trip up route 1 was slick at times and we slid to a stop at several intersections, but we made it up to Portland, and the hi way. From there, it was an uneventful trip home. The truck was going to a local construction company that also has the town plow contract. He was obviously going to be pretty busy, so we dropped the trailer in one of his garages so we didn't have to clear off all the snow after the storm.
After a beautiful sunrise, we went over to his shop, pulled the trailer outside and, with the help of his excavator, reassembled the truck and drove it off the trailer. The process of putting it back together was a lot easier and quicker.
I guess I've rambled enough for now.
Hudson, the semi-beagle
