July Catahoula of the Month: Charlie

This is what his mom Heather had to say:

Were working at a Christmas tree lot in Austin tx called Papa Noël which is what inspired the picture. We've had Charlie since may of 2010. Were both raft guides and when we took the tour of last years company, we noticed a catahoula chained up to the fence. Upon asking if the catahoula over on the fence was a catahoula, we found out that his previous raft guide owners could no lover have dogs on the property so they gave him back to the folks who had him before. Apparently he'd been chained up to that fence living on a piece of cardboard with no protection from the elements for nearly 6 weeks. To top things off, we were told that his first owner actually just fed him cheese doodles and beer as their version of a healthy puppy diet. And so he was called Charlie Doodle. My boyfriend befriended the very standoffish hound with a little help from Spam and it's been love every since. I don't know what I would do without him. We decided that he's about 3 1/2 now and has never been happier or healthier. Catahoulas are an awesome breed and Charlie is the bestest!! :-)

Catahoula of the Month June: Gunwale

Every Catahoula is special is someone's life. Brian shared with us why Gunwale is important in his. Here is what he had to say:

My wife is insane and decided to get a puppy while we had a newborn. She insisted that we get a dog at the same time so they could grow up together and so the dog would be used to having a baby around. I have to admit it worked out great because they love to entertain each other They especially like to wrestle and chase the cat around together, which seems to be entertaining to everyone in the house except for the cat. I can only explain Gunwale as "off the hook". He's always doing something and loves constant attention.

Shiloh: Our May Catahoula

When we walked through the shelter, honestly, we had our hearts set on a german shepherd. But when we saw Shiloh, at first we were drawn to her beautiful coat, then to those beautiful mismatched eyes. When we asked, we were informed she was an Australian Shepherd X Yellow Lab, she had been dropped off at the shelter when she was 2 months old, and when we came along she was now 6 months old. We fell so madly in love with her and adopted her and brought her home. 12 hours later, we learned she was deaf. I came home from dropping my son at school and my husband to work. She was asleep in the living room and never heard me come in or call her name. After some research and talking to some friends, I contacted some local Catahoula breeders and sent them Shiloh's pictures and in their oppinion, if she was not PURE blooded catahoula, she was at the very least HALF with Catahoula showing as the dominant gene.

She is now 9 months old, knows almost 30 signs, and has even saved my son's life. We went to a dog park to allow Shiloh to run free for a change and interract with other dogs. A stray came out of no where and tackled my son to the ground and started shredding his jacket. Before I could even react, Shiloh came at the other dog and knocked him off of my son and stood over him like a protective mother guarding her pup. She is also a master at keeping the racoons and squirrels at bay. A true catahoula through and through. I could not ask for a better dog and I dont think I will ever own another breed.

Getting a dog from a reputable breeder is all fine and good, but there are dogs in shelters, cast aside because they cant hear or see. Dogs like Shiloh. Dogs that can do any thing any other dog can do, they just need love and encouragment.

Sarah, proud Catahoula owner

April Catahoula: It's no joke: Otis

This is what Amy, Otis owner, had to say about him:

This is Otis our Catahoula. We rescued him 3 years ago. When he came to us he was 8 months old and only 32 pounds! He is now almost 70 pounds! He is a double merle so he is completely deaf and sees approx 20% from one eye. If it is very sunny outside he almost completely looses all sight. He is an excellent guard dog when it comes to protecting his family from reflections and spots of light LOL. He is spoiled beyond rotten and is the best buddy to our 9 month old son. He is so gentle and will let our son do anything to him. He is a wonderful guy and we love him dearly!

Darla: March Catahoula

This is what Darla's owners had to say about her:

This is my catahoula Darla she was rescued when I worked for a veternarian office. A man had brought her in to put her down because she had a broken leg. She was only 10 months old and on the table with the serum drawn up to put her down and I came in the room and said stop I will take her. She is a wonderful dog she loves to swim at the beach as you can see the picture. She swims and whines the whole time. She is the love of my life of course next to my husband Kevin.



Miles: In Memory of a Special Catahoula

This is what Emma had to say about her Miles:

My husband and I got Miles from the Hawaiian Humane Society in August 2006. At the time he was estimated to be two years old and had been returned twice. He had been at the Humane Society for over six months. Everyone else's loss was our gain because he was the most wonderful dog we could have ever asked for. His favourite hobbies included eating freshly baked cookies off the table, licking people's faces for as long as they could handle it, and playing with a hamburger squeaky toy. One of Miles nicknames was Cthulhu Hound, for his ability to get into and destroy things in ways we didn't think were possible. His tail would wag so hard it could leave bruises on legs and destroy glass. Unfortunately he became ill April of this year from what was initally thought to be cancer. After surgery and biopsies it turned out not to be cancer but before we could figure out what was wrong he passed away.

Annika: Our Valentine's Girl

This is what her owner Kevin had to say about his Annika:

"Sweet girl who is always looking to be loved. We got her from a breeder in TN at 9 months old. Apparently, the previous owner bought her to use her for hunting. After trying for several months to get her to hunt, which apprently, she didn't enjoy the guns, the previous owner called the breeder and said if she didn't take her back, he was going to shot her. The day my wife and I went to see her, she was very skinny and as you can imagine, very wary of males. She warmed up to my wife immediatly, in fact never left her side the whole time we visited. Of course, we had to have her. We brought her home and after many weeks of working with her to gain trust, she became our loving, sweet, protective 75 pound Houla.

Great breed and couldn't be happier."

LuLu: The Catahoula Mix

Joe & Laura

Proud Parents of LuLu had this to say abour their companion:

"LuLu is our 18 month old houla mix. She was found wandering the highway in southern TN with a limp. My husband tried to find her owner and when no one claimed her he got her all fixed up and she became a member of our pack here in Il. We love her so much.  It has taken some time for her to learn that cat's are not squirrels but she is working on it. She will lick her lips and sit by them now without trying to eat them."

Sadie: Our second January Catahoula of the Month

Our second January Catahoula of the month

This is what her proud owner Jeff had to say about his Sadie:

This is Sadie from Calgary...Crazy as a lark but so much personality. Everyone knows her and loves her in the neighborhood.

She is about 3 months in this pic and comes from Mission BC and Catahoula Ranch.