Beatrice the basset is safe, thanks to the Rockport Fire Chief
ROCKPORT — Sometimes the day just doesn’t go as planned. For this reporter, it happened on June 28.
I was scurrying about to get out the door on time for an afternoon meeting. Car keys. Check. Cell phone in purse. Check. Dinner thawing on the kitchen counter. Check. Now, it was time for my last duty: bringing in my two basset hounds from their fenced-in yard area so they wouldn’t howl and annoy the neighbors after my departure.
So, I made my booming call to Teddy and Beatrice to come inside. Teddy, my very obedient 10-year-old hound, quickly responded and came right to the back door. His younger sister, Beatrice, did not.
I shouted some more and promised treats if she responded; still, no Beatrice.
I went outside to look for her and suddenly heard “my” owl, who has taken up residence in the woods near my house, give a trio of piercing screams, instead of its regular soothing trill. I admit that I can be superstitious at times, and this was one of those occasions.
Once the owl was silent, I then heard a soulful wimper. I followed the sound to an opening where I spotted part of a long snout and about an inch of a long floppy basset ear protruding from a small opening beneath the porch. Beatrice was stuck between the floorboards. She had dug a hole from the side of the deck and crawled underneath completely to the other side.
I was scared that Beatrice had injured herself.
I needed help to free her and the only thing I thought of doing next was to call the Rockport Fire Chief, Jason Peasley.
Peasley arrived quickly, chainsaw in hand, and with a calm and soothing approach. Fortunately, it was a quick rescue and Beatrice was happy to be liberated from her “porch prison.”
Save the date, July 29, to salute our area firefighters, at the Samoset Resort for the Rockport Firefighters’ Ball, a night to dance and celebrate the community.
All are invited to the ball, which will be held at the Samoset.
The ball is part of the larger Rockport 125th Summer Celebration that continues for a week, July 29-Aug. 7. It will be a dance for the entire community, featuring a popular band, Creatures of Habit.
Tickets are $50 and available online at brownpapertickets.com/event/2531469; or can be purchased up at the Rockport Town Office, 236-9648, or at the Rockport Fire Department.
Beatrice's rescue is just one example of what our firefighters do for us when our cherished four legged kids occasionally get into trouble. They respond whenever needed, at all times of the day, and not just for fires, emergencies or accident scenes. And some are the type of calls that don't regularly make the news.
The deck will need repairing before any entertaining takes place this summer. That’s okay. Beatrice is safe and hopefully this has taught her a hard lesson.
Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com
