Many of you have asked about our dog, Belle, who always accompanied us when we went to work with the bees. We're sad to have to report that we lost our faithful friend some years ago. Belle was a very unusual dog. You've heard of sheep dogs? Well, Belle was a bee dog. This photo shows her dressed as her favorite critter, the honey bee.

When we went to work our bees, Belle HAD to come with us. She'd jump in the truck before we could even light our smokers. Belle had specific bee dog duties. She was a real working bee dog, not just a wanna-bee dog. When we would arrive at the bee yard, Belle's job was to monitor the number of bees that found their way into the truck cab. She counted bees, and, when the automotive apian population reached a certain critical threshold, she alerted us by diving down into the passenger side footwell and giving us plaintive looks until we arrived to shoo the bees out of the truck.

Like all beekeeping mammals, Belle did take the occasional sting. This was not her favorite part of the job but, like us, she never let it stop her. She did, however, let us know that she really preferred chasing rabbits to being stung. Belle was quite elderly when she suddenly took ill and passed on within the week. We buried her in the home apiary by her beloved bees. She is sorely missed. Animal lovers that we are, we decided to give a home to another dog, even though we knew no one could replace Belle in our hearts.

Fifteen year old Indy (Indiana Bones), a shepherd mix, came to us at age 2, having spent most of the previous years in shelters and kennels. When he stepped into the life of a Bee Dog, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Following in Belle's footsteps, Indy loves to come with us to the bee yards. He cleans up dripping honey, stalks deer, chases squirrels, and menaces marauding bears. But we can't seem to teach him not to eat the bees!