Heagle?

When we're out and about with Jake (which, in all honesty, isn't often) I usually hear two comments frequently. The first is how absolutely adorable he is. We, of course, wholeheartedly agree with this statement. The second usually is something along the lines of the following: "I love beagles!" "Beagles are so friendly!" "What a cute beagle!" You get the idea.

I always find these statements amusing because, in all honesty, we have no idea what breed of dog Jake is. I mentioned in my last post about mine and my husband's desire to adopt a pure bred dog from a breeder. I'm not sure why this was our preference. I had heard for years about mixed breed small dogs being extremely unhealthy, and that could have been how I subconsciously formed this opinion. Plus, it sounds much better to tell curious onlookers that you are the proud owner of a Labrador or a Yorkie, not a mutt.

When we adopted Jake, his cage said that he was a "hound mix." His vet describes him as "a beagle with a promiscuous mother." My husband and I have decided he is at least partly beagle, or perhaps maybe a foxhound.

According to Wikipedia, my favorite source for all non-academic information (and sometimes even then I make exceptions), a beagle has the following characteristics:

Beagles are intelligent, but as a result of being bred for the long chase are single-minded and determined, which can make them hard to train. They are generally obedient but can be difficult to recall once they have picked up a scent and are easily distracted by smells around them.

This is certainly true for Jake. When we take him outside to potty, generally he is so distracted by all of the other sights and smells that he forgets to go to the bathroom at all... until we get back inside, that is.

Jake is lankier than most beagles I have seen with long paws. This has led my husband and I to believe he might be a fox hound, which is described as the following:

The legs of a Foxhound are very long and straight-boned...a bored foxhound will find ways to keep themselves entertained and can be very destructive, some examples of destruction include everything from scratching at doors to tearing apart objects including toilet paper, being very rambunctious and, being rather long, they have the ability to take things from counter-tops.

This could explain why, after a long day of teacher professional development, I came home to find that my Houdini dog had somehow escaped his crate. I do not know how long he had been out, but coincidentally he chewed almost an entire roll of toilet paper and my flip flops.

Although we don't know what breed Jake is, we know he is a great dog so far and keeps us on our toes. We'll just be satisfied calling him our little heagle for now! Anyone have similar experiences with mixed breed dogs?

A quick update on Jake: My sister took Jake to the vet today while my husband was at work and I was attending a conference. He received some vaccinations and was diagnosed with kennel cough. This had been a concern of ours for some time and now that he has medication we hope he is on the road to recovery!

What kind of loser creates a blog about a dog?

You're probably pondering the above question and with good reason. With a plethora of other blogs at any internet surfer's disposal about any topic under the sun, writing a blog about one nine-pound puppy seems, well, insignificant. After all, many people have multiple pets and still manage to juggle a gaggle of children and other responsibilities. What's so captivating about two people with one pup?

Admittedly, there's nothing special about Jake. In the five days we've owned him, he exhibits behavior I'd assume is quite typical in puppies. He chews anything that doesn't chew him first, has the occasional accident in the house, and keeps us up at night with plenty of whining and the occasional howl. However, he is pretty darn cute. :)

I suppose what makes Jake unique are the people who own him. Many people who grow up in a rural area are surrounded by pets. Although I had the occasional dog or cat as a kid, I really hadn't had a pet since the latter stages of elementary school. For your reference, I am nearly 25. My husband's story is even more extreme... Jake is his first pet. Ever.

As of today's post, we have been married for little over a month and have owned our home for a little over a year. We both knew we wanted a dog but what kind and from where was up for debate. We started looking shortly after buying our home, hoping for a purebred dog. Our wedding was absurdly close to the end of the school year for me (I'm a high school English teacher) so we put our search on the backburner as the stress from wedding planning and work responsibilities was too consuming. We had a marvelous wedding, a fun honeymoon, and returned ready to find the perfect dog for us. However, internet searches were non-appealing.

Less than a week ago, on Sunday, July 18th, my husband and I made an inquisitive visit to the Lexington Humane Society. Although we were open to anything, we both firmly agreed that we would not bring home a dog that day. We had no puppy supplies to speak of, and our home, while perfect for two twenty-somethings, was not what I would label puppy proof.

Strolling pass the dogs in various cages at the shelter, we saw many we found cute. We even seriously considered a few older dogs, going so far as to put one on a leash and walking her around. My biggest concern as a novice pet owner was the size of the adult dogs. I'm short and was afraid I would not be able to handle a dog who, at standing, would be taller than me. We were feeling pretty pessimistic when we entered the puppy section of the shelter and saw this little guy.
His name was Artie, but we tried not to hold that against him. I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder and, to make a long story short, we returned from the Humane Society that day with a puppy and a bag full of goodies from PetSmart.

Artie became Jake and we went from two people who could do as we pleased to a couple concerned about being away from the house too long. So, on the surface, there isn't anything too terribly interesting about one little puppy. On the other hand, he sort of symbolizes my first real adult responsibility. I have, hopefully, many good years ahead of me, and I know that if I can go to work every morning and successfully deal with several classes of teenagers and then, upon returning home, successfully deal with a teething puppy, that I can handle whatever adulthood has in store for me.

So hopefully I will use this space to post the adventures of Mr. Jake and swap advice with pet owners, both the novice and the pet hoarder alike. :) I also hope to share my life has a newlywed and a teacher.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned.