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.
Hi everyone, John and I are home for a few days between trips. We have been busy with loads to Ohio and return loads from Michigan. John has been complaining about the cold weather. I don't understand what the big deal is. It doesn't look cold when I watch him loading/unloading from inside the truck. We had some partial loads put together to get us out to Michigan where John had a snow groomer to pick up. We first loaded an army truck in Auburn, ME, that had to go to Chambersburg, PA. We had some horse barn accessories going to Milford, PA and some snow guns going to a ski area in Michigan. We lost half a day while waiting for an ice storm to clear out in Pennsylvania. After that, things went smoothly. We made all our deliveries and headed up to Marquette, Mi, which is up in the U.P. (upper Peninsula) It was a beautiful trip. we traveled along the northern edge of Lake Michigan, and then along the southern shore of Lake Superior until we got to Marquette.
It was 8 below zero the morning we loaded the snow groomer. I felt bad for John and the rest of the guys that had to load the machine. things went well and we were on our way by mid-morning. Cold weather has a way of complicating anything mechanical. Luckily, we had none. The machine, however, ended up to be 4 inches over width. so, here we go again, sneaking home. John had a scare when we were crossing the Mackinac Bridge, later that day. All trucks have to use the right lane at the toll booths. Wouldn't you know it, there was a Commercial vehicle enforcement van right there at the tolls. John watched his mirrors and, sure enough, here he comes. The van comes up along-side us, passes us, and then pulls over. The speed limit for trucks is 20 mph, so the 3 mile trip across the bridge seems to take forever...for John, I'm enjoying the scenery out the window! The Van has pulled out again and is hiding behind a bus that is traveling behind us. John is nervously watching his mirrors, just waiting for the blue lights to come on as soon as we get off the bridge. I can even hear him mumbling excuses, practicing for when he gets pulled over. As soon as we get off the bridge, sure enough, on come the blue lights. But they are for the bus, not for us! We got lucky that time.
The rest of the trip went well. we had another pick up to make just outside Syracuse, NY. We had to pick up a drag, which is towed behind the groomer, to groom snow mobile trails. The drag is 10.5 feet wide and so John had to build a cradle for it so it would lie on an angle on the trailer and be within the legal width. So, after buying some lumber, John proceeded to start building the cradle sunday Morning in sub zero temperatures. We were at a dairy farm, where the drag was located. The farmer, who was leader of the local snow mobile club that sold the drag, showed up around 10 am and got the drag hooked up to his loaded and loaded it onto the cradle. There were some scary noises, and upon closer inspection, some reinforcement of the cradle was required. I guess that's why John is a trucker, and nor an engineer! Tim called in some of his club members and we all went to his shop where they had more lumber and tool do do the job right. It was ugly, but hopefully, it would hold together.
They reloaded toe drag, and no scary noises were heard. John chained and strapped the drag down, and off we went. Millinocket, or bust! John spent a lot of time checking his mirrors. I don't think he was worried about being over width. We made it home that night and the cradle held up well.
The next day, we made it to Millinocket, and delivered the groomer and drag to the 5 Lakes Lodge. John looked relieved to get there and get everything delivered. Upon inspection, the cradle held up well, but things had settled and there were signs of stress. It was a good thing that we didn't have any further to travel.
John had a relaxing ride home. Nobody stopped him for being over width, and the cradle held up!
As I look back, I should have been nervous as well. The cradle was designed by a trucker, and improved by a farmer! Not a good combination.
That's all the excitement for now.
Hudson, the semi-beagle
