7 Things About Thor

Inspired by Duckie's recent 7 things about her chihuahas, I decided that it was time to tell everyone all about Thor. Or at least more about Thor.

1. Thor was born May 1, 2001, which makes him 7-1/2 years old. He's the longest lived Mastiff we've had, and he's our third.
Wasn't he an adorable baby?

2. Thor's front shoulders are the height of my breakfast room table, which is 31", and he weighs about 265. It is rather hard to get a really good weight on a critter that size without a cattle scale, which we don't happen to have.

3. Thor dares not put his head on the table, because I once thwacked his nose with a paper for doing just that. Yes, one thwack is all it took to teach him that dog heads on eating tables are no-nos.

4. We got Thor when he was 7 weeks old. We paid $300 extra for the pick of the litter. He was one of the 2 biggest, his brother being the same weight within 3 ounces (and, at 22 pounds, what does 3 ounces count for?). We chose Thor because in all the pictures the guy sent, Male #4 had his tail up, and when we went to get him, he had his tail up and he was trotting around vigorously. We felt that was a sign of curiosity and intelligence, so he was ours! Of course, that soon meant that we were his.

5. Whenever any of his people come home, Thor does a really great happy dance. It doesn't matter if they've been gone an hour or a year, the greeting is outstanding!

6. Thor will only eat Bites and Bones, and then only reluctantly. If forced to eat plain dog food, he will do so, but there really ought to be people food in there; after all, Thor's a people, too. Even green beans trump Bites and Bones, but peanut butter sandwiches may be the best of all!

7. Thor always barks at men walking past on the street, but not usually at ladies, and never at children. We have a fence to keep the kids (including the furry one) in, and those who don't know where to enter are kept out.
Thor loves that all of you come to visit, and encourages you to post 7 things about your favorite 4 footed family member! He reminds you that dogs and cats are people, too!

Edited at 11:15 to add that one of our neighbor's dogs was killed by a car last night. Their children are distraught. I'll be sending some apple cinnamon bread for comfort. This phone call just made me go wake Thor and give him a hug. Now he thinks school's over and it's playtime.