Dalton

DALTON’S STORY

We adopted Dalton from a Rescue Group here in the Heartland. We have always been Beagle owners and had always gotten our pets from a reputable breeder. On August 20th we lost our beloved Beagle Snoopy who was 13 ½ and Madison our 6 year old Beagle was missing her buddy.

We first met Dalton at our local Humane Society’s annual fund raising event. He was only about 11 weeks old at the time, and while he looked like a Beagle in his face, we knew he was not a purebred Beagle. The poor little guy had a rough start in life and we later learned that before he was rescued he had suffered for over 3 weeks with a broken back leg and no medical attention. Thanks to the animal rescue network and Basset and Beagle Rescue of the Heartland he was getting a second chance at finding a new home where he would not be abused or ever have to be afraid.

We were not sure we were ready to get another pet having just gone through the devastating loss of Snoopy, but the more we learned about little Dalton and what he had been through, the more we realized that he needed a safe and loving forever home, and even though he was a “mutt” we decided his home should be with us.

We tried to guess what he was mixed with as he got a little bigger and while we knew he had Beagle in him we thought possibly some Rat Terrier and even suspected Dalmation because of his spots. We took him to our vet and he guessed German Short Hair Pointer due to all the “ticking” and spots. Our curiosity got the best of us and we finally decided to find out for sure what our new little guy was all about.

We got the DNA results back last Friday and while we were not at all surprised by the Beagle and German Shorthaired Pointer, we were totally blown away by the Poodle and Chinese Shar Pei. He has no curls and no wrinkles so we are thinking those breeds are way back in his ancestry somewhere.

• Level 3 – Beagle
• Level 3 – German Shorthaired Pointer
• Level 3 – Poodle
• Level 4 – Chinese Shar-Pei

In any event, we love him and so does Madison as she finally has a little live wire to play with. My husband and I are very happy that we decided to adopt a rescue dog, and encourage anyone who is thinking of getting a pet to consider a shelter or rescue dog. So many of them need homes and they make wonderful pets even though they may not have a pedigree.

Liz
Omaha, NE

Thanks so much for sharing Dalton's touching story and for promoting mixed-breed dogs and for stressing the incredible needs of shelters and rescue groups.