Random thoughts about dogs
By Mary Jo
Anyone who knows me or has read my books probably knows I'm a cat person, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the wonderfulness of dogs. Many of my friends have great dogs and I always love hearing their canine stories. We had lots of cats on the farm when I was a kid, but only one dog: a friendly family basset hound called Bootsy. (The picture on the left isn't Bootsy, but the look is very similar.)
The name basset is French and derives from the word bas, meaning low, so they are "low hounds." Bassets are large dogs with very short legs, so they are low but not small. Bootsy had a baritone bark that would do credit to the Hound of the Baskervilles. <G> (My book Shattered Rainbows had a basset known as Louis the Lazy.)
Dognapping!
What got me musing about dogs for this blog was a newspaper article about the canine breeds most likely to be stolen. They tend to be small, valuable purebreds because it's a lot easier to swipe a Chihuahua than a St. Bernard. At the top of the theft list are French bulldogs. Last year saw the widely publicized case of three men stealing two of Lady Gaga's French bulldogs and shooting her dog walker. The dog walker survived, barely, the dogs were returned, and five people were arrested in connection with the thefts.
The pandemic has increased dog theft as people locked down in their homes yearned for companionship and adoptable pets were much in demand. Valuable purebreds can be resold profitably after they're stolen. The listing of breeds popular for thefts included French bulldogs, Pembroke Welsh Corgis, the bichon frise, and the Norwegian Lundehund.
Whoa, the Norwegian Lundehund?
I'd never heard of this breed, so I visited my friends at Wikipedia to find out more. Lundehunds turned out to be quite fascinating. They were bred to hunt puffins and the name means "puffin dog." It's small, only about 15 pounds, lighter than cats I've had.
Puffins live in craggy coastal areas, and the Lundehund was bred to pursue the birds into rocky crevices and paths. They're amazingly agile and have extra toes and it sounds like they can probably go straight up cliffs. The breed almost went extinct, but has now been bred and nurtured back to valuable life, They are the rarest dog breed in the world, which is why they are targets for dognappers. (I found the image on the right in several places on the internet, but couldn't find copyright information so I hope this isn't a violation. But isn't it amazing the way this Lundehund can stretch his forelegs out?)
Reading about the Lundehund made me think about how dogs have been bred for many kinds of work. Welsh corgis are short and sturdy and are great herding dogs, Their low height helps them avoid kicks of the cattle they're herding, a fact I learned when I wrote Angel Rogue, a story which included cattle drovers and their dogs. ("Corgi" is Welsh for dwarf dog.)
Hunting dogs
There are so many, many breeds of dogs, often bred for special usage, particularly hunting. "Sight hounds", as the name suggests, hunt by spotting game and racing after it. They are sleek and fast and elegant, like greyhounds, salukis, and whippets. (Here's a Wikipedia image of a saluki. Gorgeous, and built for speed!)
"Scent hounds" obviously hunt by scent and include beagles, bassets, bloodhounds and other breeds with extra sensitive noses. Beagles often hunt in packs, nose to the ground to follow the scent of the prey. Often they run with their white tipped tails up in the air so it can be seen in tall grass like a little flag. <G>
Rescued by Ruby
Another reason I'm musing about dogs was that I just found a newly released Netflix original movie called Rescued by Ruby.
Based on a true story, it tells of a young Rhode Island state trooper named Dan who really, really wanted to be part of the state K-9 corps, but he'd never been accepted for training. Plus, he didn't have a dog and the state didn't have the funds to buy one of the specially bred dogs from Europe, which cost around $10,000.
Undeterred, Dan goes to a local dog rescue hoping to find a German Shepherd he can train, but the shelter doesn't have many purebreds. Dan ends up adopting Ruby, a wildly hyperactive cross between an Australian Shepherd and a Border Collie. Basically, this is a dog with endless energy and so smart that if you leave it in the house alone, you might come home and find your pooch has rewired your house and subscribed to every streaming service in existence. <G>
Ruby had been taken home by five different families who ended up returning her because she was so manic and uncontrollable. Dan is dyslexic and AHDH, so he figures he understands her, and after many trials and tribulations, they get accepted in the state K9 corps--and Ruby saves a boy's life when she does search and rescue. It's a great story, and mostly true, I think. Delightful!
Do you have some great dog stories? Tell us about them!
Mary Jo