I know I have written about Uno before, but I thought I was the only fool in the world that would get such delight out of a small-town dog and his accomplishments. I guess I was wrong.

Since Uno, Belleville’s beloved beagle, won Best of Show at Westminster, the month of March has been declared Uno Month in Illinois (after all, he put Belleville in the nation’s limelight), Oprah has called him, the St. Louis Cardinals want him to chase the first ball, the White House wants him to visit, and he’s going to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. (He has retired from the show ring, but with all this publicity, he wouldn’t have time to work anyway.)

Is all the fame because Uno is the first beagle to win Westminster or because he’s a beagle? Would there have been as much to-do if a poodle had won Best of Show?

I admire and respect most breeds, from the Chihuahua to the Irish wolfhound, but I love it that Uno represents the hounds, a group of dogs that aren’t carried in a handbag or pocket, clipped, primped, fluffed, and styled and have no unusual characteristics of the breed like no fur or floppy skin.

During our work-a-day world, with all the technology driving us nuts, all the hype coming at us from every direction to buy stuff we think we need, Iraq and Afghanistan, the economy, and presidential election craziness, if just for a moment, maybe Uno brings us back to basics. I think Uno has given us more than he knows.

Items of interest:

Love a Golden Rescue Trivia Night; 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 29, American Legion Post 648,
1428 Scenic Hill Dr., Grafton; fee for a table of eight is $80; doors open at 6:30 p.m.; applications available at loveagolden.com.

Hope Animal Rescue “Save a Litter, Fix Your Critter” Trivia Night; 7 p.m., American Legion in Edwardsville; teams of six to eight people, $120 per team. Teams can register on the Web site, www.hoperescues.com, or at the door.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Animal Crackers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.