Hello, My Name Is… Henry
Name, age, sex, breed: Henry, 11 months (as of February), male, terrier/beagle/? mix
Owner, city: Stuart Luman/Tina Boyer, Chicago, IL
How I got my name: It just stuck. Before he was Henry he was Wiley and then before that Brando (that’s at the rescue and then in the foster home. Or perhaps he got the moniker Brando back in Birmingham, where his mom gave birth to him in a shelter down there. I think they named him Brando because his bottom jaw stuck out when he was a little pup).
How we met: My wife and I had had our hearts set on a little jack mix named Pepper, who we saw on Petfinder. I won’t go into too many details but after being told we were allowed to adopt him, we got a call a day before driving down to southern Illinois and told that he had been taken by another family. We were absolutely crestfallen. After lifting ourselves off the floor, we went through Petfinder again, looking for scruffy puppies and saw Brando, the cutest little guy ever. He was at a shelter an hour outside Milwaukee, for those who don’t know the Midwest, that’s freakin’ far from Chicago. But we were so taken by his photos and his scruff and his funny buck tooth that we drove two hours plus to see him. He was at a wonderful foster home in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and we said yes and drove him home. He slept on my lap the entire time (that was when he could still fit in my lap).
Siblings: None, but he does have a very cute cousin who’s named Harry and is also a terrier mix (but larger)
Personality type: He’s such a good boy and a very energetic puppy. He can play for hours and hours and jumps about 4 feet directly up when he’s about to be fed or when someone’s at the door. The only way we’re sure he has some beagle in him (other than his coloring, ears, and general complexion) is when he gets really excited or frustrated (such as when a dog won’t play with him or we’re ignoring his barking) and he sticks his head up and howls at the MOON. It’s horrible!
Pet peeves: His or ours?? He doesn’t like stepping in puddles and will make wide arcs or jump over them to make sure he doesn’t. He also can’t stand it if one of us leaves the room and gets underfoot quite a bit. Our top peeve, he eats dog poop.
Favorite place to lounge: On our bed or anywhere that’s near one of us, as tightly and closely as possible, until he over heats and slips off under a table.
Favorite foods: pumpkin mixer, his dinner, all types of treats. He’s a really good boy about not eating people food.
Forbidden indulgences: poop
Strangest habits: MMmmmm… Maybe his constant jumping 4 feet high (he’s about a foot and some off the ground, so he really pops). He could have some jack russell in there. When he’s not trying to eat poop, he goes insane for eating wooden sticks.
Stand-out physical feature: Bucktooth and jutting bottom jaw. He’s a mess, but we love him.
Things you might not know if I didn’t tell or show you: Other than that this cute little dog can’t wait to eat a huge steaming pile of poop? He loves to play with the meanest, biggest, most ferocious dogs, who end up totally loving him. (In the foster home he made friends with a big old white pit bull and I think he learned to be very submissive, so he’s good with all types of dogs).
Images: Stuart Luman and Tina Boyer
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4 Responses to “Hello, My Name Is… Henry”
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I wonder if poo eating is a terrier thing. My terrier has this habit as well.. it’s so weird and highly obnoxious.
Ya, he started doing it a while after we had him. He didn’t do it when he was a newbie pup. Now, his foster home was in a more rural area, and perhaps there wasn’t that much opportunity, not sure. Also, our vet and pet store peeps have told us it could be a sign of a vitamin deficiency, and so we give him pumpkin in his food (we even use baby probiotic for his resulting digestive problems), but this hasn’t helped. Other people have told us he’ll “grow out of it.” But I have a hard time believing that. I would LOVE to find a solution. Luckily we have a backyard, so can take him out there and at least we know he can’t get into anything. But on walks, it’s open season. One thing I didn’t realize before Henry became a family member and local poop aficionado: how much sh*t there is just everywhere. People don’t clean up after their pets, at least here in Chicago. Truly nasty.
who is that handsome boy pictured with henry in the last photo?! he looks like such a good boy who would never eat poop.
Yes, the coprophagia (poop eating) does seem to be something of a terrier thing. One of my JRTs did it as a pup. They tend to grow out of it but you can speed it up with a bit of training with the Leave It command.