It’s nearly National Dog Day, a great time to introduce my Plott Hound.

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 2023, 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. Seven 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 adore her. 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.

As it happens, 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!

Share your favorite companion animal with me in the comments.