An hour before the temperature dropped 30 degrees, I found this pup wandering around a parking lot and dodging SUVs behind our office. It seemed unfair to dump him in the local pound right before the holidays, but I had concerns about bringing the little guy to a home that included a rescued pit bull. The trepidation lasted about 30 seconds before I made my inevitable decision. Because he came into my life three days before Christmas -- with a severe underbite -- my husband and I christened him "Doc Holliday." We believe he's a pug and large Chihuahua or small smooth-coated terrier mix. A local vet clinic put Doc through "the works," including testing for all the usual suspects, vaccinating him and, of course, neutering. After picking him up the next day, we've been inseparable.
Because he accompanied me to my job as staff writer for a newspaper, the local police chief quickly dubbed him "The News Hound." The name stuck. Recently, I was offered the position as editor of a weekly newspaper in the Texas Hill Country. During the interview, my most important question was "Can I bring my little dog with me to work?" The answer was yes, and here with both are. Our menagerie now includes two pit bulls, a "weagle," weiner-beagle mix and another dog of indeterminate antecedents, as well as a quintet of cats -- all rescues. When we bring a new rescue into the fold, we tell the animals, "Once upon a time none of you had homes and now you do. Here's another that needs a home so you all must deal with it." So far, they have. I was never allowed to have animals while growing up. Now, in my dotage, I'm making up for lost time.
Bandera, TX
