Hound dog

When we first encountered Max at the South Orange Animal Shelter, where he went by the unfortunate name of Timothy, we weren't sure what he was, other than the dog Frank fell head over heels for in about a split second. We did notice he was spry and friendly and very alert. His crate was very very clean and we were told he was very particular about keeping his space clean, unlike another pup named Moby who we won't discuss. Anyway, he also loved treats and would sit there alertly and give his paw, right or left, sit and lie down on command and then vigorously wag his tail once he was given a treat. All he clearly wanted to do was make one happy. As we filled out the paperwork we asked what breed(s) he was and they told us he was a mix...probably a bit of beagle which explains his adorable face

and his penchant for little bit of barking.

Apparently they also like to nap quite a bit

so OK, maybe so. The coloring is a little off though and so is the size, so it made a lot of sense when they said he was also a Treeing Walker Coonhound, which if you know this dog almost describes him to a tee from his grazing way of eating to being very active

and sticking to one toy

to taking a nap under the covers.

 He even tries to climb up trees which is very cute and amusing until he starts eating bark and gagging but I guess he's going after the 'coon or in this case squirrel, squirrel, squirrel and trying to trap it for us to hunt. Like that's gonna happen. And then there are those times when instinct just takes over, the hackles go up from the back of his neck, down his back all the way to the tail and the nose hits the ground

and he pulls you around on the morning walk in relentless pursuit of something only he can smell because in the end

Happy New Year from nothing but a hound dog.