Tess has arrived!
Inga and I have been planning to get a dog since the end of June, but decided to wait until I was feeling better after the operation. I had been researching Catahoula Hounds for a month, actually considering driving down to Louisiana to pick one up from a breeder, when we came across Tess on Petfinder.com. Tess was surrendered by her owner to the Animal Rescue Team, in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and has been well cared for by her foster parent, Kim, for the past several months. Apparently the previous owners had her cooped up in an apartment near NYC, no place for a Catahoula Hound which requires lots of regular exercise. Hopefully life at Hutcheson Memorial Forest will prove more engaging for young Tess. She’s already gotten pretty excited over the rabbits and deer we’ve seen during our morning walk.
Also, if you are interested in adopting a lovely Catahoula Hound (aka Catahoula Leopard Dog, Catahoula Cur Dog), please consider the Catahoula Rescue. This is the site through which I originally found Petfinder.com. The forums are full of adoptable Catahoulas as well as great tips on rescuing and raising the breed.
2 responses to “Welcome Home, Tess!”
How old was Tess when you met her?
I’m considering adopting a Catahoula Hound. Any feedback you’ve got would be greatly appreciated.
Best,
John
She was 18 months. She’s great- but a handful. If you’ve got plenty of room for a Catahoula, plenty of time to run him/her (Tess is outside for hours a day, running through the woods while we work), and plenty of time to train him/her, then you’re a good fit for a Catahoula. They’re a whole lot of work, but they’re great, really smart, and love to play. They’re not necessarily the best “dog park” dogs, and same-sex aggression is typical of the breed (Tess wants to be the top bitch at all times). This means you may not be able to bring your dog to every picnic, friendly get together, etc. I hope this doesn’t sound too alarming, it’s just better to get the worst case scenario before adopting a new dog.
Good Luck!
David