Peaches is so much like Dolly, my other little basset I loved so dearly. Peaches' personality is so similar to hers, and she loves to play with toys like Dolly did. None of my other bassets have been real toy freaks like these two. Dolly had her own Basset Basket, which I had to replenish regularly with new toys. Not very long after I adopted Peaches, she discovered Dolly's old toy basket, which has been left right where it was since Dolly was alive, a kind of memorial to her, I guess. I was so amazed and delighted when one day Peaches began sorting through the toys for just the right one to play with, exactly as Dolly would have. It was almost as though Dolly had returned to me. Perhaps she has, who knows? Could there be such a thing as dog reincarnation? Since life is cyclical and I believe they also have a spirit, I don't see why not. Surely, I have never bonded as strongly with any animal since Dolly as I have precious Peaches.

Peaches loves "Hedgie," the big fuzzy hedgehog squeak toy she inherited from her predecessor, Daisy, but her favorite toy now is "Foxy Loxy," which looks like a lady's fox fur boa. It looks incredibly lifelike, and sometimes I do a double take when I'm walking into the family room, since it looks like a dead animal lying on the carpet. Mrs. Santa Paws brought it for her for Christmas. Even though Mrs. Paws thought that $30 was quite a lot to spend for a dog toy, she's so glad that she put it under the tree for Miss Peaches, who is a good and deserving girl. What's great about Foxy Loxy is that it has two very loud and durable squeakers, which can be rather alarming to the household when I happen to step on Foxy Loxy in the middle of the night. There's one located at the fox's throat, which sounds more like a growl than a squeak, and there's a smaller squeaker in the long bushy tail. Peaches knows to go straight for the throat to get the best sound. Since bassets were bred to track and not kill their prey, I hope I'm not training her to be a wanton killer. Naw, I don't think so. She definitely doesn't exhibit any propensity for becoming a pit basset, but she shows poor inanimate Foxy Loxy no mercy.