The Defense Rests

What kind of dog is that? We hear it a lot.

• If you're just making polite conversation, then I'll shrug and say she's a mix.
• If I'm in a flippant mood, then I'll tell you she's a blonde border collie and stand there daring you to disagree.
• If I'm feeling patient, then I'll explain that she was advertised as an aussie x border collie, but we think she has some golden retriever as well as yellow lab.
• If you are a true dog person, then I'll continue to explain about her webbed paws (lab), the little aussie puppy tush, and that only golden retriever could explain her easy temperment.

But when you walk away, I'll question myself about the golden retriever.

I want to believe that there is golden in her mix. Goldens are mellow and friendly and smart. Every other dog we've had possessed some golden in their pound puppy heritage, and they've all been outstanding dogs. But...but..but I've always felt like it might be wishful thinking.

Until tonight.

I downloaded my photos taken last Monday and was startled to see a photo that looked like a flashback of Kharma's brother.

He's a tank of a puppy (the only one who would sit quietly we later learned), but when I saw it on the Petfinder entry, I told my sweetie, "There's Golden Retriever in there somewhere." Off we went to find a puppy and six shelters we finally turned up in Gridley and the rest is sweet puppy-loving history.

So look at Gridley (sitting) and then at Zelda (lounging). Strong family resemblance, right?

One is pure golden and the other is Kharma's full brother. It's sort of like a math problem, simplified: If puppy A is golden and puppy B is golden, then puppy B's sister must also be golden.

Vindication.

No, it doesn't really matter. She is perfect and I wouldn't change one thing about her from her little arrowhead blaze to her pink paws or her white knee socks. (Well, maybe I would change her hair from Labrador-stick-to-every-pair-of-pants-I-own to Golden-feathery-clumps-easy-to-pick-up-on-the-rug. But you can't have everything.) Still, it feels good to have another piece of her heritage firmly established.