Quirks

Lightning is such a quirky dog.  Since we got him, I had wondered just what combination of breeds came together to make him.  Here is a quick run-down of what I mean by quirky:

• He is the color of a yellow Lab, but his head his smaller and leaner than a Lab's.  
• He has a skinny back half compared to his front half, and his paws aren't big like Lab feet.   They are smaller and more delicate, kinda of like a greyhound's feet.  
• He grows a thick collar of fur in the winter, and then there are those ears.  He can pull them up or back or almost twist them around his head.  They are like radar.  He can hear anything.  
• He has a white blaze, white toes, and a white tip on his tail.  
• He is fast when he runs, and his favorite move when chasing either people or dogs (especially Thumper) is to go after the heel.  
• He is scared of loud noises and isn't much of a tracker but he loves to play fetch.  
• When he was younger, we would find small little holes where he would pause while running and frantically dig a hole no wider than his tiny feet.  
• His tail is unlike any I have seen on a dog.  The vet once asked him who he stole it from.  Ha.  It is long and sort of fluffy, like a fox's tail.  
• He is a vigilant watch dog.  
• He isn't very affectionate.  

So, you are probably wondering where this is going.  Why read through all that?  Well,  to satisfy my curiosity and endless conjecture of "What is Lightning?", we got one of those dog DNA test kits.  I'm still not certain those things are accurate, but I figured what the heck...it would be fun.   I couldn't wait to get the results back.  Was there some kind of terrier in there?  Or some kind of herding dog?  I was so curious....and finally we got the results.

I wasn't surprised to read that, according to the test, he had no purebred parents or grandparents.  I also wasn't surprised to read that Lab was in there somewhere. 

What did surprise me was this:

St. Bernard!!!

Hmmmm.....I guess anything is possible.  I'm still not sure I believe it, but now if people ask what he is (and they always do), I tell them "Lab / St. Bernard mix".  They look at me like I'm crazy.  That test was so worth it.  :)

Have a good weekend.  Looks like the groundhog was wrong here....I think spring has sprung!