Tragedy on the Farm

I received tragic news at the supper table last night. We have a beagle on the farm (as most farms do) named Joker; aka "The Happy Hound-dog". Joker had a wife. A chicken-wife. That's right. He had a Buff-Orpington chicken that he allowed to live with him in his dog box. Our children affectionately referred to her as "Joker's Chicken Wife". For several months, they lived in perfect harmony (like ebony and ivory) at the back of our yard. This is not a common event in nature. Beagle's are bred and trained to chase and bark at anything that moves that's smaller than they are (namely rabbits). I must admit, he truly was hen-pecked. When it came to house-hold hierarchy, "Chicken Wife" ruled the roost. But, it appeared that they loved each other. She would groom him of bugs. He would sniff and lick her in response. He even went so far as to eat her eggs that she laid in the dog box. October 24, 2006 marks the day that Joker put away his chicken wife. He did not follow biblical guidelines and give her a certificate of divorce. He gave her...more of a munch and a chomp. What triggered Joker to turn on his own chicken wife, we will never know. What ever possessed him to use his muzzle that was designed to drool, sniff and yelp as an instrument of terror and destruction will forever remain a mystery. As we reflect back on the life if Clucky...or Henny...or was it Big Comb or Red Comb...as we reflect back on the life of "Joker's Chicken Wife" we will always remember what could have been. The two of them growing old together. Sharing their food. Sharing their home. Sharing her leg. We will always remember them as husband  and chicken-wife. We actually wondered together as a family if this was a true sign of the end of time. Lion and lamb. Beagle and chicken. Now we just know that it was a short span of confusion in nature. Rest in peace, Chicken Wife.