Thor: Impressive Catcher!

After asking one of HSNEI’s animal care interns, Alex, which dogs could use some more outside time, she suggested that I take Thor out. I’m glad I did for a handful of reasons, one being that he was clearly excited to spend some time outside of his kennel and another being the pleasure of learning what a sweet dog he is. He did not make it easy for me to take photos of him but certainly made up for it with plenty of cuddles.

Thor is a black Labrador-Pit Bull mix with a stripe of white fur down his chest and stomach, as well as a small patch of white above his nose. His paws are also white and particularly cute because they look like he’s wearing socks that don’t fit quite right. Thor enjoyed playing fetch while we were outside, but was more interested in carrying the tennis ball around in his mouth than returning it to me. If dogs can smile mockingly, Thor definitely pulled an expression close to that every time I approached him asking for the ball back. He became noticeably more cooperative once bribed with a treat and started to return the ball regularly after making some very impressive catches.

Every time I knelt down to take a picture, Thor would immediately come up to me and lay his head on my knee. This was not necessarily helpful of him, but it was a sweet display of his obvious sense of ease around people. I enjoyed my time outside with Thor quite a bit and was glad to help him get some of his energy out. He is a joy to be around and I hope he can find a nice household to play hundreds of games of fetch with in the near future.