February 11, 2011Best Phriends: Raynor

Our newest Best Phriend, Raynor, is a rescued Bagle Hound (Basset/Beagle) from Cincinnati, Ohio. Mingus would love to meet her so that she could teach him how to open doors.

Name: Raynor, named after Jim Raynor, a character from Starcraft the video game
Age: 2 Years
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Owners: Katherine and Jason
Breed/s: Beagle Basset Hound — a Bagle Hound!
Nicknames: “The thing,” Rain-Rain, Baby Girl, The Butt, Rain-baby, and a lot of other things said throughout the day

Arrival story: Raynor was found as a stray in Prospect, Kentucky (outside of Louisville) and taken to a high-kill shelter. Fortunately, a rescue picked her up and put her onto Petfinder. There she was called Tevis and liked to chew on her friend Bubba the beagle (apparently!).  She was only on the website for about two days before we contacted Recycled Friends, the rescue she was at, to try to adopt her.  Only a week later, after she was renamed again to Gabby and spayed, I met with Kim and her family outside the Newport aquarium in Kentucky. They were taking a family trip and brought Raynor along to bring to me.  She hopped in the back of my car, I told her she was Raynor, and the rest is history.

Favorite food: Cream cheese!  She’s a Bagle – so she always gets to lick the cream cheese off my spoon.  She also enjoys steak and anything my father, Jim, gives her. (He just loves giving her nibbles and letting her clean plates!)

Biggest fear: The hose (she hates water), fire, snow, the vacuum… and mostly going into the crate!

Favorite toy: Dragon, a pink dragon from Go Dog! that has been destroyed beyond belief – no arms are left, he has been turned inside out many times, and almost in pieces.  Jason won’t throw it away, though.

Most annoying habit: Her ability to open doors – for so many reasons! She figured out long ago by that running straight into the door with the flat part of her head aimed at the door, she could open it. This causes door latches to break, probably some injury in her head (she never shows any sign of this) and a lot of annoyed people.  She does it a lot at her grandparents house where she can get a running start into their bedroom and into the bathroom!

Hobbies: Sleeping, cuddling, sleeping, playing tug or fetch, walking, sleeping, trying to get some people food, hanging with the guinea pigs, sleeping.  She gets cold in the winter and pushes her way in between us on the couch no matter what!

What’s Raynor’s most embarrassing moment – or the most embarrassed YOU’VE been thanks to Raynor? It should be stated that I think these things are hilarious, but they are still embarrassing for all – Raynor has a bit of the “excitement pee.”  When she met a bunch of my sister-in-law’s friends, she got a little too excited when one girl petted her.  She was sitting near (okay, on) another girl’s foot and peed on her shoe (of course, this girl is a cat person, not a dog person.)  I apologized, but I was laughing hysterically inside.  Jason was laughing hysterically outside, though.  Her reaction was just priceless, and Raynor did not notice a bit as she was still getting petted by the other girl.  She has also done similar things when meeting our dog trainer, a long list of people on the street, and my dad – which was bad because that one was inside!

If Raynor were a superhero, what would her special power be? Super cuddles! This dog knows how to make you feel great when you are down. Her cuddles are great.  She even knows the command “cuddle” (which means get on the bed and roll over basically).  She is a 50 pound lap dog – and it’s super sweet when you are working and she comes up and just walks onto your lap and lays down.

If Raynor had a job, what would it be? She’d be a dishwasher designer. She’s already got the first prototype done (herself!).

As a note, getting a rescue / shelter dog is awesome – and there are so many great dogs out there everyone is sure to find one.  We wanted a basset (or mix) and found exactly what we wanted and saved her life. Plus, you’d never guess she was a stray dog – people are amazed because she seems like she would never survive it (she’s a princess for sure).

Glad to have you as a Phriend, Raynor! Please note: We’re not currently accepting applications for more Best Phriends – but check back in future installments to find out how your pup(s) can be featured.