As a dog trainer with DL Bloodhounds, preparing dogs for service in law enforcement and search and rescue, Deanna Lally knows better than most just how breathtaking they can be.
In fact, Lally has eight bloodhounds of her own at home, whom she refers to as her kids.
“They have a big, powerful stride and presence. Sometimes, they just look majestic,” Lally told The Dodo. “They’re my family members here. I call my place The Houndstead.”
With their discerning eyes and stately demeanor, Lally’s dogs do possess an almost regal air — but that’s not always the case.
The other day, Lally was at home with her pack of pups when a good-natured little play-fight broke out between two of them, Doss and Reacher.
“They are from a long lineage of working bloodhounds,” Lally said. “[But] when they’re not working, they are the goofiest, wildest, craziest knuckleheads imaginable. I love taking photos of them, because you never know what you’re going to get.”
This day was no exception.
During their horsing around, skin a-flopping, Lally captured moments like this:
Then there was this unsettling shot:
Like some living, fur-lined lava lamp creation, Reacher’s face took on some unusual forms.
When they’re really getting into it like this, Lally describes her dogs as turning into “crazy squish monsters.”
And it’s easy to see why.
“[It’s like] the metamorphosis of an innocent young puppy to a monster,” Lally said. “It’s pretty hysterical.”
And, at times, a little unsettling.
“Sometimes, when I review the photos I take during play, I just bust up laughing,” Lally said. “These boys are 140 pounds each of thunderous mayhem.”
But when play-fights inevitably come to an end, the pups’ amorphous-seeming faces always settle perfectly back into place.
The characteristically floppy skin around bloodhounds’ faces serves a far greater purpose than creating some unforgettable action shots. The folds around their features actually help to collect and concentrate scents — a vital feature for their work in tracking.
Lally knows this skill well.
“If I put on a different flavor of Chapstick than they’re used to me wearing, they will come thundering across the yard to smell my face,” Lally said. “That’s how incredible their noses are.”
And as the photos above prove, they have an incredible sense for fun, too.
