A big thank you to hound lover Jessica McEachern ! I love when fellow houndies love “the family coonhound”. Jessica shared the story of her two “big city hounds”, Abby and Lucy. Abby is 7, almost 8 and her DNA test says that Abby is Treeing Walker or American English coonhound. She was pulled from a kill shelter in North Carolina with her six siblings when they were about 8 weeks old. Abby (originally “Wishbone”) was the last one of her siblings to be adopted – which worked out perfectly for Jessica!
Abby was about five months old when Jessica rescued her, and gives credit to this sweet hound for helping her through a very rough patch in her life. Going through a difficult marriage which ended in divorce, prompted Jessica to move back to Long Island where she is from originally. Jessica was a bit concerned about the change in environment for Abby, since she had so much wide open space in their previous home upstate. Long Island – at least the area in which she lives – is more densely populated with less open space, but she does have a back yard with plenty of room to run. From time to time Jessica worries about what her neighbors think of Abby’s coonhound barking and baying. Whenever Abby sees a squirrel, possum or rabbit she has a high-pitched, hysterical scream. Luckily, most of the people in her neighborhood have dogs, so they seem to understand.
Abby isn’t a big talker but Jessica says she is happy to sing along if she hears other dogs howling on You Tube videos! Even though Abby is a bit shy, if new people are patient with her and don’t reach out to pet her right away, she’ll approach them and sniff them. She’s affectionate in her own way. Like most hounds, Abby LOVES to go for long walks. And also like most hounds, she has her own way of “demanding” to go on those long walks. If Jessica is upstairs with the door shut, Abby will kick it open and bark, demanding to be walked. Then does the excited happy dance around the house as Jessica is getting her harness and leash ready. Loud noises prompt her to sleep on the bed, and Abby thinks a 50 pound coonhound fits perfectly well on a full size bed!
Jessica’s second hound Lucy, is a mix with beagle and possibly American Foxhound, as she has characteristics of both. Lucy was adopted from a rescue group in Louisiana. She had been a family pet and once the family moved away, they left her behind. She was on her own until a neighbor took her in but could not keep her as she had 8 of her own dogs. While Jessica can’t be sure of her exact age, she is probably about 6 years old. She was very young when Jessica adopted her in 2014, still very puppy-like, so probably not much older than a year or so. Jessica describes Lucy as Miss Personality.
She loves to be the center of attention, has no qualms about letting Jessica know when she wants to eat or go outside, and has perfected sit up and “beg.” She’s very affectionate and loves to shower you with kisses. When she hears something outside she’ll let out an almighty “WOOOOOO!” 
Begging posture perfected !!!!!
It is pretty obvious that Jessica loves these two girls with all her heart, and after hearing their stories we can certainly understand why. Although Jessica’s area is considered part of the NYC metro area, it’s a bit more suburban, but she adds that in recent years her village seems to be looking more and more like the city. She has friends who live in Manhattan and own dogs and it is not as tough as it may seem. They do have some nice areas to walk and get exercise, such as Central Park. So can a hound be a star in the big city ? Absolutely !! Case in point ?? Abby and Lucy !!
