Our Mixed Breed Surprise

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When a female puppy resembling an English Setter arrived at a local Humane Society, someone who knew my mother called. Since we had AKC English Setters, naturally, we wasted no time driving down to meet her.

She looked like a lightly ticked tri-color orange Belton. English Setter pups have short coats—yep, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck: words that came to mind.

Boy, were we mistaken. She was far from a purebred English Setter. She looked like a pointer setter cross. We named her Sophie but affectionately thought of her as our Poinsettia. After all, she joined our family around the holidays and the name felt appropriate. We were so curious as to what in the world we had adopted that we had her veterinarian do a DNA test. When those results came back, everyone was surprised! No one knew what she was, genetically speaking. She was a mixture of a little bit of this, that, and everything else all rolled into one sweet Sophie!

“I wish they'd stop referring to me as their Christmas plant. I do have a name.” The others were introduced with their name, followed by their breed. When it was my turn, all I heard was, and this is Sophie: we don’t know what she is!

As time marched on, I got bigger and stronger. My story is brief except for the following ↓

Those Setters still need grooming; the Greyhounds aren’t a problem; I can tolerate those Beagles, and all of those neurotic Doxies are still here. Even those birds are okay with me.

Oh Well! Welcome to GREYSETT!

On this note, I’ll leave you with the following: “There’s more to this story than you think. I’ve got a lot more to say down the road.”

Our sweet Sophie crossed the Bridge at the age of 12, remaining another cherished member of our GREYSETT family.

—Lesley💞

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“Wow, the perfect toy for me!”

“Gee, there are comfy couches here!”

“There are dog beds all over this house!”

Sophie enjoying time on our porch

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Comments

  1. GJ LanhamSeptember 23, 2026 at 10:05 AM

    Lesley, a wonderful story about Sophie. So... "there's more to this story" I look forward to reading the more. Thanks for sharing photos. I enjoy seeing those, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bill DolanSeptember 23, 2026 at 5:07 PM

    Sophie looks like an absolute, darling! I actually like poinsettia but more than her name, was a blessing of being a part of your home. And the line about dog beds being everywhere is so funny!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lesley OsbornSeptember 23, 2026 at 5:58 PM

      Bill, thank you very much for reading and commenting. I'm thrilled that you're enjoying my stories.

      Delete

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