The Plott Hound chased me down a Research Rabbit Hole
So, it is absolutely no surprise to any of you that it takes nearly nothing to send me down a research rabbit hole. Zero. Zip. Nada. And I’m right there diving into browser tabs twenty deep. At least. Leading to a vast wealth of useless knowledge rummaging around in the back of my head. But at least that makes me fun at parties–right. (Actually, no it doesn’t. I’m a decided introvert and a terrible bore at parties, but I digress.)
At the end of last year, my youngest son moved out, taking our dog adopted during covid with him. That was part of the plan all along, but boy was the house empty without a dog. We’ve pretty much always had one dog and several cats, and there was an imbalance in the force without a doggy presence.
So, off to the local shelter site, I went. I reviewed a lot of ‘doggie dating profiles’ and we landed on this lovely girl. A teen-aged mom, who had given birth to a litter of 10 in September, 7 of her pups had already found homes, and she was ready for hers. She came home with us, immediately, like on the first afternoon, made peace with our cats. Shortly thereafter, she proved great with the grandchildren, who pretty much adore her (ok, the littlest twin still isn’t sure about having her toes sniffed, but we’re getting there.) And she is best buds with my son’s dog who regularly visits for doggie daycare when he has extra long days at work.
She’s stubborn though, and got a few habits that we’re working to change, but our Mocha is a darling. It wasn’t dog training techniques that sent me down the rabbit hole this time–ok, the topic that did, but it wasn’t the really INTERESTING rabbit hole. That honor went to the one I chased when looking for information about her breed.
The shelter listed her as a Plott Hound, which I had never, ever heard of, and kind of thought they might have made up. But hey, what more natural dog is there for a writer than a real live plot hound?
Turns out Plott Hounds are a real thing, and they are pretty uncommon to boot. So, I had to find out more.
Turns out, Plott Hounds are the state dog of North Carolina. These medium size, brindle hunting dogs are unique among the six recognized coonhound breeds for not being descended not from English Foxhounds but from German ‘Hanover hounds.’ Their ancestors came to the US in 1750 with a German immigrant named Johannes Plott, who settled in the North Carolina mountains. He and his son bred their pack of five Hanover Hounds with local hunting stock producing big game hunters capable of hunting wild boars and bears. These intelligent, loyal, and stubborn dogs became eligible to compete in the AKC Hound group in 2007.
So, once again, we have a hound in the house. All our dogs have been rescue dogs, but somehow they have all ended up being hounds (or at least mostly hounds, we haven’t gotten their DNA done and likely won’t.) We’ve had a (mostly) Pharoah Hound, Basset Hound, Rhodesian Ridgeback, and now a Plott Hound. Not sure why they keep choosing us, but I’m glad they do. I’ll keep you posted on what adventures my Plott Hound leads me on!
What a wonderful story! I’m so glad you gave this lovely dog a good home. All of our dogs have been rescues, but we’ve never adopted a breed as aptly-named as a Plott Hound. She’s a cutie!
Love the research, I grew up in NC and hadn’t heard of Plot Hounds, however, it doesn’t surprise me. They had everything in the hills, from moonshiners to Cherokee Indians, and rare plants. I’m going down my rabbit hole researching ancient dragon myths. I just need to stop being lost in all that info and weave it into my novel. I really enjoy your books and I am eagerly waiting on that last Chocolate book. I’m adding the website address, however it is still being built since I don’t have a clue as to what I am doing, but you might like the art.
Lovely hound and story – I tried to paste a picture of our companion, but the technology is beyond me.
Thank you for sharing
Excellent story and how appropriate a Plott Hound for a plot hunter. HA! That works. The picture is so cute. Blessings.
My first dog was a Boston Terrier, Cindy. Still one of my favorite breeds. Then after marriage, hubby and I had the honor of caring for two wonderful Black Labs, Cheyenne and Duke. Cheyenne first and we lost him to bloat and then Duke, but he developed soft palate cancer. Each of them loved the cats we had over the years. All canine and feline rescues. We are now companions to three very independent cats, Syd, Max and Milo. Now if I could just figure out how I could get a dragon to be my Friend, life would be perfect.
My husband is allergic to cats and dogs. So, for many years I had parakeets and even taught the first one, who was the only one for a while, to speak. “Hello, baby, wanna a kiss?” was the first phrase. I tried to teach him, “I love Sheila” but it came out as, “I love Sheb.” He used to ride my shoulder all over the house. We don’t have any pets now but our three children have various cats and dogs, so I enjoy those and even “cat-sit” the one when our kids vacation.