It's been awhile since I blogged about my dog.

Not long ago my dad chastised me for not taking enough pictures of Jin. After all, Jin is his first granddog, and since my sister has been married for more than seven months now and has yet to have a baby (an offense for which I can forgive her for approximately two more months), Jin is still the first and only grand-anything. Being a dog, he should enjoy this position while it lasts because once there's a human replacement I suspect he won't hold as much interest to everyone.

Jin isn't the most photogenic dog in the world, which is too bad because he's a handsome fellow. I'm not just saying this as his proud but biased owner. People will sometimes stop me on the street and tell me what a good-looking dog I have. Many people have tried to guess his breed. He definitely has German Shepherd in him, but the second half of the mix is anyone's guess. Surprisingly, more people seem to guess boxer than anything else, though last week someone told me they thought he looked like he might have mastiff in him. Jin came to me from the Humane Society labeled as a German Shepherd/Mastiff mix and I questioned the "mastiff" part of the label from day 1, but maybe they were onto something. Whatever the combination was, it was a good one, at least in the looks and people skills department. He's a little lacking in the play-nice-with-other-dogs, don't-run-away-from-your-owner, and ignore-the-squirrel departments, but I don't think that's genetic and I played no role in his early childhood, so I take no personal responsibility for those traits. And I still love him, of course.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from one of Jin's most recent accomplishment - his first destroyed toy! The stuffed Frankenstein chew toy was from my mom on Halloween, and was the first toy he ever took an interest in. A few weeks ago he finally managed to remove the last bit of stuffing. I was so proud of him! I had been a little concerned that he didn't take interest in normal dog things, like chasing balls or playing with toys, which are much healthier interests than barking at other dogs through the sliding glass door, or cavorting through the neighborhood unattended.



The video is not all that exciting because halfway through taking it he noticed me standing there with the camera and lost interest in whatever he was doing to Frankenstein.


Aww, how cute! He just destroyed his first toy!

Frankenstein, chewed beyond recognition.

Jin poses for a picture! Two firsts in one day!