Per reader Jeff’s request (and our own promises to shamelessly post our dog’s picture all over the web), here is Gordon’s home on the web.

The short version of our Gordon story is that Anna picked him out at a shelter in Pittsfield, Mass. in September 2004.  [Anna Edit:] The long version is that Anna saw his cute face on the interweb and had to have him… so Mark and I drove down to Pittsfield to see him and bring him home with us.  When we got to the shelter, he was a hot mess–crazy wild, barking, and famished… it was a no-kill shelter, and they treated him well but had lots of mouths to feed.  His name then was Jordan… and he had a girlfriend called Doodle.  Anyway, he was really skinny:

and super crazy… Mark thought I was super crazy for wanting him still, but it was love at first sight–our eyes met and a connection was formed, papers signed and the leash handed over.  Then Jordan became Gordon and that’s the story.  We worked hard to rehabilitate him, train him, and feed him.  He was a smart little guy… knew sit and stay.  Could catch but not retreive.  Learned shake in two shakes, and then how to  bark and speak with an inside voice.

He also showed an early predilection for bandanas (and bananas).  We think he is about 8 years old now and our guess is that he is a lab mixed with a chow-chow and or a terrier of some sort. While we know little about his puppy-hood, we do know that he loves to ride in the car:

often thinks he’s people:

demands absurdly large dog bones:

stares out windows for hours on end:

and manages a collection of about 50 balls and toys throughout the house:

We have also learned that Gordon hates all water, especially in thunderstorm form. His general reaction is to hide in the nearest closet:

While Gordon is an independent guy who tends to run away when we let him off the leash at the park, he stays close to us at home. Like really close, like if-you’re-wearing-flip-flops-he-steps-on-the-back-of-them-and-trips-you close. For that reason, we have given him the nickname “Shadow.”

So that’s a little about Gordon. Oh, and did we mention he loves to mug for the camera and chew tennis balls at the same time? He does.

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