PURE MUTT OF THE MONTH

PURE MUTT IS PROUD TO SPONSOR OUR MUTTS OF THE MONTH

Jenna & Toby

JENNA

Almost four years ago, we lost our beloved Beagle mutt, Hershey, to Lymphoma. We only lasted six weeks before we knew we had to bring another dog into our family. I saw Jenna's sweet puppy face on the Cleveland Animal Protective League adoption page. She grabbed my heart immediately. We went to meet her. She was so tiny and malnourished. Her ribs and hip bones stuck out. Her sides were scaly and had no fur on them and she had pneumonia. But what a personality. Despite her sorry start in life, she was so lively and full of spirit.

As it turned out, our little Jenna was actually abandoned on the streets of Virginia and picked up by Animal Control. No one wanted her and she was put on the docket for euthanasia. Moments before she was to be put down, workers from Gloucester Mathews Humane Society rescued her and took her to their facility. But they were overcrowded. As luck would have it, the PetsMart Rescue Waggin' happened to be passing through and space was found for Jenna and another lucky dog. They made the long journey up to Cleveland, Ohio, to the Cleveland Animal Protective League where we eventually met and became a family.

Jenna was listed as a "lab-mix", but as the months passed, Jenna grew and grew and grew. A DNA Breed Identification test showed that she was half Great Dane and part American Foxhound. She now stands a regal 27 inches at the shoulder and weighs 95 pounds. Quite a long way from the tiny, abandoned, sickly puppy we adopted almost four years ago. Jenna has since earned her Canine Good Citizen Certificate and participates in Agility.

TOBY

We adopted Toby Benjamin just six (6) months ago, but it seems like he has been part of our family forever. He had been rescued by Elite K911 in North Ridgeville. They found him wandering the streets. They figured he was between 1 and 2 years old. He was so sneaky and wiry, that it took them a few days to catch him. He kept evading them. His rescuers polled the neighbors to try and figure out his story, but no one claimed him as their dog. Supposedly he spent the winter huddled on a porch, but the house owners said they had nothing to do with him and wanted him removed.

When we went to the shelter to meet him, he ran up to me as if we had known each other forever. He was perfect. I remember saying to myself "Jenna, you better like him, because I have already fallen in love with him." We brought Jenna in to meet him and immediately they took off running and chasing and playing together. It was meant to be.

You wish a dog could talk. Toby is so friendly and yet he snarls and yaps at certain dogs. He tends to cower for no apparent reason. He is constantly grazing outside eating grass, worms, grubs, bugs, even branches and leaves. He has some quirks but they just endear him to us even more.

He is a phenomenal dog. When we brought him home, he didn't even know how to sit. We started taking him to Jenna's agility school, Jump and Run. We've only had him 6 months and he's only been involved in agility for about 4 months, but he already is in Jenna's Intermediate class and can run advanced courses. It won't be long before he is competing in agility trials.

We knew he was a Beagle mix, but wondered what else. We did a DNA Breed Identification on him also and found out he is half Beagle and half Chihuahua. Sometimes called a "Cheagle". When he snarls and yaps at other dogs, we like to say his "inner Chihuahua" is coming out.

Jenna and Toby are very much our children. Our son is grown up and on his own, and sadly our dear little daughter passed away at the age of 10. So we are empty nesters and don't like it at all. Jenna and Toby bring so much love and joy into our lives. We are tremendously proud of our "Pure Mutts".

These wonderful shelters and agencies helped to save Jenna and Toby's lives: