Maybe The Dingo Ate Your Baby.

This is Steven.

                    

He's an American Dingo.

aka Carolina Dog.

aka Dixie Dog.

aka Native American Dog.

aka Southern Aboriginal Dog.

Or at least we think he is.

He turned 11 two weeks ago.

Big Man has had him since he was a pup.

The women whom he got Steve from had an entire van full of various puppies. She claimed this one was part Chocolate Lab, part Huskie.

Big Man convinced himself Steven was Huskie and Shepard.

I wasn't convinced with either.

So one day I'm watching Animal Planet ( I think that's what it was), and there's a special about the history of domesticated dogs. And there was Steven!!

I rushed to the bathroom door, where Big Man was perched upon his throne, and told him he HAD to come and see this!

Immediatley, I start frantically Googling "American Dingo". And I come across this website...

If "That looks just like MY dog!" is your first reaction to the photos above, then perhaps you're fortunate enough to own a living piece of history...a CAROLINA DOG...also called the American Dingo, the Dixie Dingo, the Southern Dingo, the Native American Dog, the Indian's Dog, the Southern Aboriginal Dog, and just plain Ol' Yaller Dog!

Yes! Yes I AM saying "That looks just like MY dog!"

I put together a little picture collage and sent it straight to the Dingo Goddess herself, Jane Gunnell, who is the head of the Carolina Dog Assosiation.

And what do ya know? She told me "Steven looks like he could of stepped directly out of one of my very own packs!"

Quoting the site: The hypothesis is that these dogs are the pure descendants of the feral pariah canids who came across the Bering land mass 8,000 to 11,000 years ago following the human tribal masses. 

Pretty. Darn. Cool.

Steven's pretty fantastic. All 90lbs of him.

He rarely barks. Only when there is definitely something amiss. Rather, he whines and "talks" and sings, doing little dances shaking his head back and forth. My nickname for him is Stevie Wonder.

And for being 11 years old, you'd never know it. He's as spry as any other pup out there.

From what I've read, American Dingos are mostly free of any of the usual problems prevelant in other large dogs, and can live a healthly problem-free life for 20 years!!!

Amazing.

So far, from everything I've researched, Steven fits the personality and behavoral traits of an Amrican Dingo exactly.

I would highly recomend this dog to anyone out there looking for a large breed. I encourage you to poke around the link I posted (here it is again http://www.carolinadogs.org/index.html) whether you are interested in getting a dog, or just to learn how insanely cool these little pieces of furry history really are.