Ali'i

My Catahoula hound Ali'i died a few days after Christmas.  There is so much good and beautiful still in my life, but Ali'i was a magnificent creature and the bond between us was intense.  Vicki Hearne, the writer and dog trainer, in her essay "Oyez a Beaumont," writes about the "dangerous ones" that take ahold of your heart and don't let go. Ali'i came from a line of dangerous hounds.  He was the grandson of my dog King, who hunted wild cattle with me in the high mountain forests, before we settled down to being staid and semi-respectable ranchers.  He was the great-great-grandson of my brother's dog Handsome, who was the first Catahoula I ever met, and whose eyes burned with a blue fire that I'll never forget.  Someday, perhaps, I'll look into a Catahoula puppy's eyes and see a glimmer of danger.  Maybe I'll still be strong enough to meet that dauntless gaze...