Look Who's New At The Ranch

Before I left to take Brynn to WSU's veterinary teaching hospital last week, we received an email from an employee at the Josephine County animal control shelter in Grants Pass, Oregon.  The shelter had taken in a blind and deaf stray dog they thought was a Dachshund/Beagle mix.  No one had come to claim him, and no one was interested in adopting him.  The employee, Kelly G., asked "if you guys could help out, because of limited space we cannot keep him here."

Our first thought on hearing "Dachshund/Beagle mix" was ... Widget!  Could there be another one out there?

It was Thursday morning, when I was bathing Brynn before loading her in the horse trailer, that we connected with Kelly on the phone to find out more about the dog and to discuss logistics.  Since I was heading to Pullman, I would be already 5 or 6 hours closer to Oregon.  Could the shelter find someone to meet me in Portland or even Bend on Friday?  Kelly set off to try and find a volunteer who could transport the little dog. 

A few hours later, while I was en route to Pullman, I noticed on my BlackBerry that Kelly had emailed us photos of the dog.  I can't open attachments on my BlackBerry, so I called Alayne to have her check the email on my office computer.  She opened the photos and said, "Well ... that's NO Widget!  But he's cute, I just have no idea what he is!"

By Thursday evening Kelly hadn't found anyone yet who could pick up the dog and meet us somewhere.  On Friday morning, I still hadn't heard anything.  So I checked out of the hotel in Pullman and drove back to the veterinary teaching hospital to get the horse trailer and hit the road for Montana.  It was just before 9 a.m. as I was reaching the university when my cell phone rang.  It was a volunteer for the animal control shelter, Barbara D., who had just learned a few minutes before about the need to transport the dog.  Yes, she could meet me in Bend.  "Today?," I asked.  "You bet," she said. 

We worked out our coordinates, determined the relative driving times for each of us to Bend, and I turned the truck around and headed for Oregon.

Several hours later, about 5:30 p.m., I met Barbara and her husband Ron at the PetsMart in Bend.  Incredibly, we had arrived within 5 minutes of each other.  They are a wonderful, delightful couple who had dropped what they were doing that day to make this trip.

And there he was in the back of their car, the little dog the shelter had named Mr. Bumps because he was always walking into things.

I took one look at him and realized that I couldn't figure out what he was either... yes on the Dachshund part (maybe ... or Corgi?) but what else?  No Beagle, I thought.  But while his breed mix may be a guess, I did know one thing for sure about him:  Here was another member of the short-leg club!

With another 8-hour drive still ahead for Shorty and me, we climbed back in the truck and drove north to Pullman.  I finally pulled into the hotel parking lot at 1:30 a.m., dead tired and grateful I had my Jimmy Buffett CD for the last hour of the trip!  (Okay, so that would have been a terrific line if only I could have said instead, "dead tired and grateful I had had my Grateful Dead CD for the last hour....")

I digress.

On Saturday morning I piled Shorty back in the truck and went to the teaching hospital to get the horse trailer.  After another long day on the road, we arrived at the ranch about 6 p.m. yesterday evening.

I took the photo of Alayne holding this lovable youngster late this afternoon, along with the other photos of him in our isolation yard.  He is brimming with self-confidence, adores attention, and likes nothing more than to be picked up and held in our arms.  He is totally blind and deaf, just like Spinner.  He seems very puppy-ish still, and has a soft, Lab-like mouth.  (Dachsund/Brittany spaniel?)

And no, we are not going to name him Shorty, but I wasn't going to call him Mr. Bumps, either.  So let's have a "name this dog" contest!  Please post your suggestions for a new name in the comment section.  If we select your proposed name, we'll send you a custom Rolling Dog Ranch hat or a set of our greeting cards (your choice).  But along with the name, you also need to tell us what you think his breed mix is, okay?

(Click on photos for larger image.)

Comments

[Jacqui]

Glad the donation can help to rescue such special animals. Thank you for all you do. You are really wonderful people.

jacqui

[Mary]

I love the name you finally picked for him. Baron...Anyway, I figured I should give my input on the breed. I definately see NSDTR in him (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever) and well Dachsund yeah. But, the colors and shape of head and tail...to me they point to an NSDTR.

[barbie]

TEKKEN hes a cute little man .god bless you all

[Hayley]

hey i just found your site, i think i read every story. You do great work for these animals. I think he has a chihuaua face and his name should be mookie :)

[Jenn]

Hi! I love him - he's beautiful! I don't think there's any end to the mix of dogs in him ;-) I love long-bodied, short-legged dogs, and my grandpa always called my dachshunds "long-wheel based". So, my first thought to name him was after a trucking company - I googled, and the first result was a directory of companies - fleetdirectory.com - and it struck me that Fleet is the perfect name :-)

Thank you both for the wonderful things that you do!

[kim]

I agree that he looks Dachshund/Brittany. He definately has a hunter in him!! Look how he points in one of the photos! As for his name I love the idea that his name is Jimmy Buffett themed. I like either "Cowboy" for "Cowboy in the Jungle" or "Sailor" for both "Sail on Sailor" & "Son of a Son of a Sailor". I think both names are suitable for him. :)

[Joanne]

I don't know a lot of dog breeds, but if you look at the front of him, he a lab, and the back of him is a beagle. He has a look of mischief, and a no fear attitude. He is a perfect fit for your home, and as always, he is the lucky dog. I like all of the names that everyone suggested, he does look like a RADAR to me. You guys will know...you always do. Love you and what you do.....Jo

[Mary Young]

Hi Steve & Alayne, the new puppy is so cute, looks like Dachshund/Brittany Spaniel mix like you posted, he is so half & half & little, we thought Barron's Half-pint ( in honor of folks who helped him make the trip to beautful Rolling Dog Ranch)Thanks & Happy 4th!

[Kirsteen Wrighte]

Hi there!
I had not read any of the comments yet, and I instantly saw Duck Trolling Retriever in him and my vote is that he is mixed with Beagle. Check out the photo:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/novascotiaducktolling.htm

As for a name, with that reddish fur and the reddish eyes he looks a bit Irish (and drunk!)so how about Murphy?

[trace]

I vote for Griffin since he seems to be made up of different dog breed parts and a griffin was made up of different animal parts in mythology. you could call him Griff for short.

Happy Independence Day from a neighbour to the north.

[Nancy Thomas]

Well, hmmmm, I would say that this young man has Spaniel in him as well as a lot of self confidence. My name for him is Captain Hook, he looks as if he is a leader pointing the way for the next journey and his tail, well his tail looks just like a hook. Congratulations to the new addition to the family. Blessings to you and all of the three and four legged kids with tails.

[WeeBlindDog]

Certainly a unique look! Dachshund/some sort of spaniel and??? But he's a cutie and fortunate to be a RDR resident. I agree that Baron would be a great name in honor of Barbara and Ron.

[Donna Gebbia]

Well he is very unique! Dachshund/Beagle mix...and I don't know what else. But he is certainly cute. I second the suggestion to name this little guy Baron as a salute to Barbara and Ron for their rescue efforts. He is very fortunate to call RDR home.

[chris]

Pointer/beagle?? How about Kipper from the cartoon that my 2 year old granddaughter is obsessed with?? He has the same coloring and speaks with a British accent.

[ginger & Tobias (the greythound)]

You have a real cutie here & lots of great name suggestions. I'm going to add another few suggestions to the list, Colby or Bend. Bend for the place that you picked him up, Colby for the cheese that often has the white or lighter colour in it that makes me think of his colouring. For some reasone he looks like a "Parker" as well, but I'm not sure why. He seems to have a lot of "Moxie" for such a small dog. He's lucky to have gotten to the great RDR & I'm sure he'll be very happy there.
Suggestions: Bend
Colby
Parker
Moxie
Hugs all around,
ginger, Tobias & the cat that came in the dog door

[Kari]

I have to go with the person who suggested the Dachsund and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

Since music plays such a role in the human sensory bank and Jimmy Buffet seems to have been a theme for you on this adventure, I suggest that his name be "Cheese Burger" as in Paradise but "Burger" for short.

[Gabby]

Hi, Steve & Alayne.

Since you were listening to Jimmy Buffett on the way home and this little boy has some buff tone patches,I think "Buffett" or "Mr. Buffett" would be a great name for RDR's cute new arrival. I think Clumber Spaniel and perhaps Lab are part of this fellow's parentage.

Blessings to you.

[Karen]

How about Aspen or Casey?

[Tracye J.]

BOOPEE! Nor sure if my first vote went - so here it is again.

Yeah - he's a BOOPEE!

[Tracye J.]

BOOPEE!! Man - if he isn't a BOOPEE - I don't know what he is!

(It's a Canadian thing - really)

BOOPEE - that's my vote!

[Leatrice L.]

What a great little dog! He almost jumps off the page with life and energy. Best guess on the breed is some beagle, perhaps some King Charles Spaniel, and a few other things.

My friend, who doesn't have a computer and can't submit this herself, suggests these names: Rainbow Light, Aurora, Delight, or Alfie.

My suggestions are: Sunlight or Sunny, Moonlight (because he's mostly white), and Nifty.

[Shelli Smith]

Greetings!
Your new resident looks alot like a Dachshund/Brittany mix looking at his pink nose and pink rimmed eyes. What a beaut! I like the name of Baron. It's a combo of the names Barbara and Ron, the folks who delivered the little guy to you. Hurray for Barbara and Ron! AND Hurray for Rolling Dog Ranch!

[Kathy]

Since he came in the 4th of July week....how about "Spangle" as in, of course....the Star Spangled Banner!
Breed....I think all the other posts have pretty well covered the various possibilities in this dear little feller.

[Kathy Goog]

He is so cute, I can't help wondering if his littermates looked like him! I have no idea what this guys parents could have been, had to be many breeds, so my first idea for a name was 'heinz' as in heinz57. Then after looking at him some more, he is such an unusual looking dog, almost as if his body has been stretched, which made me think of 'limo'. Good luck with him and give him a kiss for me!!

[Heidi & the kitties]

Cutie-patootie!

I originally was going to suggest Ray (for Ray Charles) - I'm surprised you don't have a blind dog named that yet - but I like Radar even better!