A Mutt No More

We found our Gypsy... AKA Super Dog! Have you ever had that perfect dog and thought to yourself it's a shame they can't breed more mutts like that, or wish you could find another dog that thinks in a similar way as your beloved departed? It would be a miracle to find that again, but we did. This picture is NOT my dog; If you knew her you'd swear this is a photo of a young Gypsy Rose Pruitt!

THIS is Gypsy at 14 years old after a good run in a field.

 A recent post on a Facebook page I follow led me to wonder if I know all of the AKC dog breeds, so I browsed to check, here. I did notice a breed that I couldn't picture in my mind, but the name seemed as if I should know it. Off to Google images where my jaw quickly dropped when photos that looked JUST like our old Gypsy Rose began to show! Was I insane!? HOW could I have missed this breed over the whopping 15 years we enjoyed with Gypsy, and how did we come to think of her as a mix? Breed names got mixed up. Gypsy was a lovely Beauceron... NOT a Belgian Malinois Doberman mix! A really stupid mistake for a person "into" dogs her whole life to make. Maybe Gypsy cast a spell over us so we wouldn't look at Beauceron's, being a French breed, because we're of German decent! LOL! I would tell her that she was better than a pure-bred to me, and I swear she'd get a different sort of smile as if she knew a secret! No wonder the poster at the vet's office always had a Gypsy-dog on it -- duh! In defense of our vet not seeing her breed he was a mastiff type specialist, and Beauceron were not common in the 1990's.

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We're stunned -- though NO dog will ever be Gypsy -- that so many of the qualities that we loved ABOUT Gypsy could be had again. Details like "the look" in her eyes, fluffy neck, drape of the tail (Gypsy had a stunning tail), weird double fur with mouse grey under the thick rich black, quirky set to the ears... things that you say to yourself, "That's MY dog"... and the personality traits of the Beauceron are spot on to Gypsy's keen mind and big heart; hence her title as Super Dog.



A collage of Gypsy at 14 & 15 years old.

 I think this is what happened to cause us to not know we had a rare breed dog for 15 years... I was excited at the time to be getting a dog and didn't listen really. Her newspaper ad read as, "GermShep/Dob mix like dog". When talking to the owner I caught that it was a French breed name and nothing else mattered after I'd looked into her eyes for the first time. Now, when I think about it, I can tell Gypsy's pre-us story the same way, but it all has different meaning.
 There was a kennel accident where dogs that weren't supposed to be bred at the time were bred. A family on vacation was visiting the kennel where, at the time, the unwanted puppies were being destroyed, (though already a couple of months old). I don't know if that still goes on, but it used to be a way of breeders to be responsible for puppies that were born out of season or had unwanted features; I know it seems awful, but they can't keep and feed every dog. Anyway, a very cute little girl from the family persuaded daddy and the kennel owner friend to let her save the last puppy. They took it home with them and totally lost control of the dog, which had no experience with people. They lived in the country so the dog just ran. She'd come back, but never inside. They got fed up with her special needs, because really she was just unsocialized, and put an advert in the newspaper. We drove out and paid a whole ten dollars for her, even though the man said she'd cost him a LOT more. At the time I thought he meant in the context of stress, LOL. Later when I was asked what kind of dog she was I'd said to someone that it was something French, Malinois came up and our vet never disagreed; She must then be a Doberman mix because, of course, Malinois aren't short coated black and tans like that. Thus Gypsy was branded a mutt and had to stay home when we took our Bullmastiff, Harvey (short for Harvest) to shows, but we always spoiled her like crazy when we got home! We didn't show for long though because it seemed to stress the dogs, and enjoying them at home was more important.


My old pack wearing their best "stay" faces.

Gypsy's story is a long one -- she had over 15 years and 4000 miles under her bucket when she kicked it. I can't count the number of lives she touched with her love of my extended family and various neighbors, her work with the elderly, and assistance to law enforcement. I knew she was a Working Class dog, so I always found her "jobs" to do, and she did them with pride. 

I can't just not mention Deyanna, and since this is a blog of personal memories I'll not think twice then about typing too much. Deyanna was Gypsy's baby; This whole thing is coming out to sound very irresponsible, but we're really not people like that. We had a moment of weakness that allowed us to be persuaded to breed with a very fine AKC papered German Shepherd -- papered, so perhaps they were the irresponsible ones, but either way I DO NOT condone random breeding of pets! But I'd do it again in a heartbeat knowing that it gave us Deyanna, my sister her Aggie, and others who said they'd gotten the best dogs of their lives; All of her pups went to loving homes for life. Gypsy was my best friend, but Deyanna (and Harvey too) was my baby... she was my only Punkin. The two of them were amazing together and filled all my desires from a dog overall. I trained Deyanna to respond to peeps and whistles... left, right, lay, run, sit -- it was glorious! And Deyanna was just as lovely with her silver grey and tan coat, though bigger and chunkier than her mother; She was my 75 lbs lap dog. Excellent at search and retrieve, but Deyanna never warmed up to strangers like Gypsy did so Therapy Dog work was out for her. She was so smart that as a puppy she figured out how to slide open the pen door, sneak out, AND close it behind her! She'd sneak away from the other puppies to cry at our bed side at night until she got big enough to climb up (a keeper)!


Deyanna Lynn Pruitt, Beauceron German Shepherd mix at 8 years old.

When walking the wildness in the Pacific Northwest the girls were essential extra eyes and ears! Though we had encounters with cougar and bear it always turned out well because the dogs listened to us, and they were a true extension of my self. When sitting in the home they were valiant protectors and wonderful companions. I worked with them every moment I was awake and Deyanna watched over me as I slept. Together my "Girls" would walk one on either side of me, off leash even when possible, and made me feel like a goddess. I'm stunned to imagine that kind of connection could be out there again! I wouldn't give up my current Tibbie, Sparky, for anything but he's a totally different kind of dog -- perfect for my life right now. Someday though, I'd like to again have the kind of lifestyle for wilderness treks, Agility courses and Therapy Dog visits. Now I know the Beauceron is waiting... new possibilities are waiting. Hey... a dog is a lot more than just a dog!
-- Tree



This Beauceron reminds me a lot of my sisters "Aggie".