You might have seen them working hard at airports and security lines, but for many, the beagle makes the perfect pet. Celebrating 20 years of sharing these smart, funny dogs with big personalities is the ACT Beagle Club.

Their mission is simple – promote the breed through fun, friendship, community and inclusivity. They are deeply committed to rehoming and rescuing dogs in need and understand the importance of socialising, training and education.

Roberta Dowd has been with the club since its inception. 20 years ago, a woman called Marie-Therese approached Roberta and her beagle, Camry, in a shopping centre and invited them to meet her beagle.

“From that, she started the club and I have been a member ever since.  Within a very short period, Judy, her husband Ken and their trusty beagle, Theo, took over the club’s administration and the rest is history,” says Roberta.

“The owners of Theo, our first rehome, said we’re going overseas, and I looked after Jack, the original beagle, and Theo for the weekend and he never went home. The club came from people meeting in the backyard and it morphed from there,” says Judy.

Camry lived and loved until she was 17, Roberta has owned four other beagles – Nova and rescue Bazil, who have both passed on and Morag and Porscha who keep Roberta busy. During her time with the club, Roberta and her hounds have walked the length and breadth of Canberra and attended scent hunts in places like Cootamundra and Gunning. Most importantly, they have connected with others.

“I’ve made many long-term friendships with other beagle owners; many lovely memories and I continue to enjoy our monthly get-together.”

 The dogs come from all over. There are pound pups, ex-working dogs, some from breeders and others rescued from puppy farms. Marg and Ray Hemsworth, who have been with the club for around 9 years, got their first beagle, Macca, a lemon ex-stud-dog from a breeder when he was four.

“Once you’ve had one, it is hard not to have another. We waited about 18 months after Macca died and Judy told us about Tilly she’d had a bit of a rough past,” says Marg.

At the time, they were tossing up whether to get another dog or to travel more in their retirement, but when they heard that Tilly was an overbred mother from a puppy farm, the choice was made.

“She never had one litter by natural means, they were all by cesarean. The vet told us that is illegal, it’s like humans, it’s only supposed to be used in an emergency, but no sooner had she had one litter, they were breeding her again,” says Ray.

The club always supports each other, so when Tilly made a getaway during a meet-up everyone got to work looking for her. Marg and Ray were attending a church function at the time, a friend had taken Tilly who was startled when the Air Force flew over, it took ten long days to get her back.

“She made her way from the hospice towards Dairy Flat Road, then we had various people spot her at night, she was travelling at night. She ended up in Yarralumla, she was just lying under a bush at the home of a lovely lady,” says Marg.

In a sad turn of events, a couple in Canberra took in Tilly, but both passed away, leaving Tilly homeless after she had gotten attached to her male owner. Wanting to ensure they are Tilly’s last owners, they have chosen a retirement lodging that allows Tilly to come.

“She’s coming to our retirement with us. We just fit in with whatever she needs, we haven’t moved yet but she will be coming with us,” smiles Marg.

The human members range from babies to 90 years old while the fur-legged members also range from babies up to the oldest boy, Toby, a pound rescue who will be 17 in April.

Found wandering the streets, Toby was taken to the pound where his microchip showed only a date of birth. Judy reached out to Rhonda Hellessey who had been waiting 18 months for another beagle. Since living with Rhonda, Toby has become the club’s most-travelled beagle, crossing the Bass Strait 22 times.

“He loves it, he just lays down, by the time you get to Yass he has given up and is lying down and snoozing on the back seat,” says Rhonda.

A member of the club for 18 years, Rhonda has made many friends that she sees regularly outside of the club.

“Everybody just gets along, there’s no committee meetings to be held. We might go for a walk, stay at the dog park and let them play and talk, we might go and get coffee.”

Often joining Rhonda for the meets is her granddaughter, Bella Benson, who doesn’t have a dog of her own but loves them, especially the beagles of the group.

“They’re all nice and they’re cute and they like smelling smells and meeting new people,” smiles Bella.

With big floppy ears and active little noses, beagle puppies are adorable, however, they do have to grow up. Judy believes they rehome a lot of young dogs because people love puppies and get bored when they reach adulthood.

“They’ve got a very compliant, pleasant personality and that’s why they use them in labs, they don’t complain. If you can get past the puppy stage, they are cute, they’ll fit into any space and are great with families,” says Judy.

While beagles are in the club title, they welcome pups of all kinds including non-beagles, wannabes and crossbred beagles. Some of the longest-standing members include a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Great Dane and kelpie. 

“It’s not just beagles, it’s beagles and friends of beagles. If you identify as a friend of a beagle, you’re more than welcome. It’s not breed-specific,” says Ray.

Ray and his family have been members of the club for the past 11 years. His wife came across the club one day in the city when their daughter, Ella, was a baby. Soon after, they got their first beagle, a breed of dog Ella thinks is perfect.

“I love it being beagles, they’re just the right size; they’re not too big, not too small, you don’t have to worry about falling over them,” Ella says.

The whole family loves their two beagles, Gilroy and Macy including the grandparents who walk the dogs each week and come to every beagle meet.

“We can tell, especially with Gilroy when he is with more beagles, he is so much happier, you can just see this spring in his step. They get to do beagle things, you can’t do it with two, you need 15-20 beagles, it’s really good to see them do their natural behaviours,” Ray says.

A core value of the club is to rescue and rehome as many beagles as possible, including all beagles on death row and puppy farms. The club has directly facilitated 130 rescues and has contributed to many more. They work hand in hand with Beagle Rescue NSW to rehome and transport beagles, Judy runs ACT Beagle Rescue.

“We had Bernie, he was a rescue from Victoria he had been burnt and his ears had been cut off… It was horrific,” says Judy.

Like most clubs the beagle group was impacted by the pandemic- the group lost momentum and membership during and in the aftermath, they have seen an influx of pandemic pups needing new homes. Their highest rate of rehoming was during the pandemic, facilitating five dogs moving in one week.

“I always feel like I’m doing a good thing when I’m rehoming because sometimes it’s people who can’t keep the dog anymore, particularly an older person and especially when it’s a welfare thing,” says Judy.

The club meets at least once a month, usually on the first Sunday. Being a free-to-join member-led club, anyone can suggest or host an event.

“It is a great adventure going for walks, sometimes we have playdates in yards, or we hire or get donated a place we can meet up. If it’s on, we invite people,” says Judy.

Anyone who knows a beagle, knows they are unique and a touch stubborn – so the club hosts a beagle-only training to meet the specific needs of the breed. The beagle is known for its nose, Judy says that with training, a pup can recognise and differentiate up to 50 distinct smells.

One of the club’s most popular events is the Scent Hunt which provides both mental and physical stimulation for the dogs.

“You bring a lure through a large paddock and end up back at the destination, you can do that for a lot of kilometres,” says Judy.

“It gives us the chance to give the dogs some play time with basically their extended family, beagles, they all just want to be together. When we do the scent hunts their instincts are they and they automatically start to bay together,” says Peter Weekes.

Peter takes his ten-year-old beagle, Ava, and five-year-old English American coonhound, Hunter, to the meets and scent hunts. Looking suspiciously like a stretched-out beagle, Peter and his wife Cara rescued Hunter from Victoria when he was 16 months old after Ava’s playmate had passed away.

“He’s got the exact same colouring and personality as all the other beagles but he’s just a hound.”

Moving to Canberra 11 years ago, Cara wanted something the family could share when she came across the club and while they don’t attend every event, they love it when they all come together.

“It’s a lovely club, the people are great and the dogs they’re just instant pals with each other,” says Peter.

The current mail list is around 300 members, some of those have moved from the region and may no longer own beagles but they remain on the list and help rescues when they can.

“People stay on so that when they see a dog advertised, they can then perhaps take an older dog when they come up,” says Judy.

The club raises money for dog-related charities through events and merch like T-shirts, rain jackets, calendars and handmade Christmas cards. They have financially supported a beagle rescue in Bali, an operation through ARF and natural disaster crisis support to name a few. They can often be seen showing support for events like Oscars Law and RSPCA Million Paws Walk.

There is nothing that can’t be improved with a little dog love, the beagles have been special guests at weddings, corporate events, preschools and have even done some pets as therapy work.

“We’d love a sniffer a dog, so we take a beagle and put a red coat on it, and the cost is a donation to the rescue,” smiles Judy.

Learn more about the pups and people who make up the ACT Beagle Club via their Facebook Page.

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