The Odd Dog Out... a story about my catahoula foster fail and her influence on my poodles.
Jupiter, a catahoula leopard dog, climbs a tree in Talkeetna, Alaska
Did you know? There is another dog in my life that brings me purpose.
Have you ever met a catahoula?
Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog. This breed is the official state dog of Louisiana. And they are cool as all get out!
I’m lucky enough to have a catahoula of my own. Although, I’ll admit, it was an accident she wandered into my life. My catahoula, Jupiter was my foster fail. I was photographing some puppies for a local rescue, which is something I’d done a million times before, but this day was a little different. The rescue had just taken on a massive load of pregnant female dogs and abandoned puppy litters from remote villages in Alaska. It was clear the volunteers were super overwhelmed with all the new intakes of dogs/puppies. And this tiny puppy kept coming over and laying on my feet while I was working.
My catahoula leopard dog on her first day at my home as a foster puppy
I picked her up and said to the volunteers, “I’ll keep this one for you guys until she’s ready to be adopted...”
And the rest is history!
Jupiter, a catahoula leopard dog, and her playmate, Pali, a white standard poodle, play together in the snow.
Jupiter is my catahoula girl.
She's the odd man out.
The one that isn't quite like the others.
She came into my world as a foster fail at the very young age of 5 weeks old. Everything she knows about life, she's learned from Galavanting Poodles.
Jupiter is a catahoula leopard dog. She's a breed that herds cattle and hunts hogs... in the southern bayou of the United States. A cool breed, for sure! But a LOT of dog and definitely not the sort of dog for a first time owner... or the faint of heart.
But she fits in our dog family like she was meant to be. Having Jupiter in my life teaches me new things nearly every day. She's a big reason why I do what I do with The Güd Poodle herbal products and why I work to learn clever ways to train dogs with a lot of drive.
I love this girl to the moon and back. Have you fostered a dog? Or are you more like me and failed at fostering, ending up adopting your little foster love instead?