Plott Hound

They say this dog can stand up to a bear, really to just about all of the larger predators. He is fearless and unafraid of any threat to himself, like of being mauled or trampled on. He'll hunt and tree or keep at bay even the most intimidating of creatures. I know this kind of courage to be true, even though I'm not a hunter and Spanks has never been used that way.

But he has faced my three-year old grandson numerous times with hardly a scratch to show and never losing his patience. I've seen that kid pull Spanks' tail, twist his ears and attempt to ride Spanks as if he were in a rodeo. Spanks will tolerate our little Timmy for just about half an hour; then he disappears, to surface only after Timmy is gone. That's about 15 minutes longer than I can endure Timmy, and I don't get my tail pulled, although he's twisted my ears a few times.

Sometimes I wish I had gotten into hunting for Spanks' sake. He constantly searches the property for new smells and when he stumbles onto one, you can just see the excitement fill him. I occasionally take him out into the woods to exercise his senses; I get just as much exercise as he does trying to keep up with him. So far we haven't run across anything larger than a deer. Maybe if he ran into something bigger and decidedly dangerous, Spanks would realize that Timmy is not that bad. I fully expect to find that kid run up a tree one day when he finally gets on Spanks' last nerve. When that happens, I'll step in, but not until I have a chance to sit back and enjoy the show for a bit!