Thursday, March 21, 2013

Pooches: When I Thought My Dog was Ugly

When I first adopted Miss M I used to tell people she was a dog with a good personality.
Mostly because I never thought she was very cute.
Vintage Miss M looks like a Vampire!
Miss M was way too skinny with a huge lollypop head and pointy hips. She was missing hair and I thought her head looked like a muppet.
I tried really hard to find the perfect 'old lady name' that would suit her.
We spent a lot of time together in those first few months after I adopted her. Mostly walking.
Sometimes when we were walking, I would hear people yell out "What a beautiful dog!". 
I would always look around, wanting to check out this beautiful dog everyone was talking about, but all I would see was Miss M:
Maybe I didn't realize it at the time, but my gangly, underfed Miss M turned out to be a swan.
Or at least a dog with a big, fuzzy white hat.
 Were you drawn to your dog based on personality, or looks?

Also:
Though you wouldn't expect it, sometimes this happens.
But usually it's this. Or even this.
What I originally thought.

24 comments:

Hannah@Eriesistibull said...

Ms M does have SO much personality, but it makes her all the more endearing! That mug is just so unique it has to be beautiful!!

Funny enough, one of my main criteria for my future dog was that it wasn't a barker (I lived in an apartment) - I was drawn to Tess by her barks: she didn't stop unless I was talking to her. Since I broke her out of the shelter, she has barked MAYBE a dozen times!!

Anonymous said...

I saw Ru's beautiful brindle coat on Petfinder and immediately reached out to my rescue and asked if we could pull him. I absolutely wasn't in adoption mode at that point, but obviously something about his looks hooked me. His mini profile made some good points too (some of which were true, some not-so-true haha) but it was his face and his gorgeous coat that made me inquire.

Anonymous said...

Miss M does have an awesome personality (I'm going on the photos you've posted) but she's super cute too!

I was head over heels when I saw Boomer, he was so soft and chocolatey! With Dottie I loved her shiny black fur but she was so sweet and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with someone.

Anonymous said...

I am laughing hysterically over here! When I first saw Melvin I thought wow, he's beautiful! When I first saw Jake my very first words were 'wait, is he even cute'? I was so caught by his googly eyes and his huge chest and girlish waist I couldn't make sense of him. Now I realize that he (and Miss M!) are all so friggen unique that they are even more adorable than most other dogs!

Unknown said...

Since I've started following your Facebook page and now your blog I've grown very attatched Ms. M. True she has a face only a mother or father could love but through your descriptions and captions of the adventures you go on she's a very beautiful dog. Beauty really does come from within

Kathy M said...

For me I was drawn to this beautiful puff ball of a kitten and her brother. His ears were too big for his head, his tail was bigger than his body and he ran sideways. He also sounded like a Harley when he purred. One day I looked at him and thought - what a beautiful boy. He grew into a gorgeous big fella.

I think your dogs are both beautiful and love the blog.

Anonymous said...

When we looked at Petfinder before going to the shelter, my husband had no interest in looking at Gambit because he said he looked like a rat in his photo! It wasn't a flattering angle. We did go off looks a little once we got there just because we weren't sure how else to narrow down from a couple dozen excited puppies to an initial 2-3 to meet.

Luv My Rosie said...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A personality goes a long way and can make even the most unattractive person beautiful. Rosie has the most charming personality its impossible to not this she is cute. But Miss M? That face? How can you not love her face and her famous Elvis lip? Miss M is a beauty through and through.

How Sam Sees It said...

We are always attracted to Golden's, but it is something in the eyes that makes us want to adopt them. Sam has the wisdom of the world in his eyes, and Monty's eyes are always dancing with humor. How could we say no?

Sam

Anonymous said...

Miss M is very cute in the early photo of her -- the vampire one! The sweet, plaintive look in Petey's eyes is what got me first. Then his torrential happy personality :)

Anonymous said...

I always tell Vanna that she has a face that "only a mother could love." Between missing like 8 teeth, having a massive overbite, and eyes too big for her tiny head, she's nowhere near perfect!

Kim @ Yellow Brick Home said...

Haha, this is too funny - Miss M is so beautiful in my eyes!

We definitely didn't get Jack on looks (he was scrawny, sad and red eye-ed, and a big bobble head), but he too has turned into a swan. Our handsome man!

RuthieJ said...

I think Miss M is cute too (as is Mr B). Her coloring is very similar to Holly's and we have people tell us all the time that Holly is beautiful also. I picked her because of her cute picture on the shelter website only to find that in person she was soooo much cuter than her picture. Plus she has a great personality too.

Two French Bulldogs said...

BOL Miss M, cover your ears and don't read today's post
Benny & Lily

Anonymous said...

Oh sweet Miss M!!! She IS a swan. I have to say though I was drawn to Chick bc I thought she was so cute! #vain

cozmcgrl said...

After our sweet black lab died, I was looking through our local animal shelters website and there was this funny pic of a black dog and his name was "Mug". Reading his profile, he had been born at the shelter and his siblings had all been adopted but a year later he was still there. I knew nothing about Pitties but something about him caught my eye. I was actually thinking I wanted a small, cuddley dog! Found out quite quickly that there is not a dog out there that cuddles better then a pit! Luckily my husband liked him immediately. Now a year later we are the happy parents of 2 pit-mixes and will always have them! Mug is not the cutest dog around but he's my baby and I recently heard that black dogs and brindle colored dogs are the last to be adopted and I am the proud mom of both!

sweetemaline said...

Miss M ugly?! Pfffffft! That's silly! Who could resist her brindle charms?

Emily @ Our Waldo Bungie
www.ourwaldobungie.com

magadociousrex said...

OMG no! she's gorgeous! !!!!

2 Punk Dogs said...

Miss M and Mr. B are both gorgeous! I know what you mean though, as Maggie had a big head and skinny body for a long time. It took ages for her to gain weight and fill in the mange spots.
Duke is the opposite, he gained weight quickly and now has a pointy little head and big body, like a steroid gym monster!

jet said...

For both of them initially, I'd have to say looks. I didn't really know their personalities when I adopted them.

Emily said...

We were drawn to Hades' looks when we adopted (he had what we wanted, short, stocky, muscular, and piercing eyes,) but it was his personality that sealed it when we met with him in a meet and greet room. He ran all over kissing us and wanting our attention though completely ignoring toys. Then when we walked by his kennel later he was totally quiet and just licked my hand through the gate. It was too easy! With Braylon it was actually her story that got us, and then when we met her it was the sweet personality in that tiny package.
Miss M is personality x1000 with very good looks!

Melanie said...

The longer I read your blog, the more beautiful I find Miss M. I can only imagine how wonderful it is to know her in person! :)

Anonymous said...
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C said...

I had the exact same experience with my Wiggles. I thought she looked like she had Down's syndrome. I didn't think she was pretty or cute. And everywhere we went, people complimented her looks and it always surprised me. It took awhile before I realized how pretty she is. She's my heart dog - I adore her.

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