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 * This article covers the dog breed; for other meanings see Beagle (disambiguation)

A Beagle is a medium-sized dog breed and a member of the hound group, similar in appearance to a Foxhound but smaller — in fact, the smallest of the scent-hunting hounds — due to its shorter legs, and with longer, softer, razor-sharp ears, which are frequently used as weapons. It has a somewhat domed skull; a medium-length, square-cut muzzle; large, hound-like hazel or brown eyes; long, low-set ears, turning towards the cheeks slightly and rounded at the tips; a medium-length, strong neck without folds in the skin; a short, slightly curved tail; an overall muscular body; and a medium-length, smooth, hard coat in tricolor (white with large black and light brown spots) or any combination of the three. If, however, you find a beagle with a curly white coat, it is probably not really a beagle, but a sheep. The UK Kennel Club describes it as "a merry hound," and it is indeed a cheerful, energetic dog, except for the weltschmerz and brooding and listening to Wagner operas.

As well as making excellent (if not very trainable) pets, Beagles are used for hunting. Beagling has been referred to as "the poor person's foxhunting," as a Beagle pack (30-40 dogs) is followed on foot, not horseback. The usual quarry is the hare. Beagles are admired by some for the bloodcurdling "Beagle music" (not to be confused with "Beatles music") they emit when in full pursuit. Beagling, like foxhunting, is still legal in England, but may not remain so for long. The actual hunting of beagles, using flamethrowers and whips, was once common, but the practice is now banned in all countries except Tajikistan.

Beagles (or their ancestors) appear to have been used for hare hunting in England as early as the reign of Edward III, who had a pack of up to 120 hare hounds with him on the battlefield during the Hundred Years' War. The first mention of the beagle in English literature by name dates from 1475. The origin of the word "beagle" is uncertain, although it has been suggested that the word derives from the French begueule (meaning "open throat") or from an Old English, French, or Welsh term meaning "small," or even from the Yiddish word "verdammt begoilhund" meaning "damn dog who peed on the carpet."

Beagles have superb noses and, despite their self-willed temperament, are sometimes used as sniffer dogs for drug detection, if due care is taken to keep them from snorting the drugs they find. More often, though, they are the breed of choice of the United States Department of Agriculture to detect food items in luggage being transported into the U.S. They are especially good at detecting smuggled Milk Bones and Snausages. The force is called the Beagle Brigade (smaller units are organized into Puppy Platoons and Barker Battallions and Rrruff Regiments) and these dogs wear a green jacket with patches on the elbows, and smoke a pipe. Beagles were chosen because they are small and easy to care for, and because they are not as intimidating for people who are uncomfortable around dogs, and who don't realize the dangerous nature of those vicious ears.

The Peanuts comic strip character Snoopy is a Beagle, as was Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo.

External links National Beagle Club of America (http://clubs.akc.org/NBC/)

The Beagle Club (UK) (http://www.thebeagleclub.co.uk/)