Meet some of coolest dogs of the UA in The Daily Wildcat’s new feature—The Daily Wild Dog. We found a handful of dogs around campus to find out what makes them so lovable.
Keep up with the Wildcat as we share new dogs throughout the rest of the semester.
Athena
Type/Breed: Pitbull mix
Age: She’ll be 11 years old in January
Favorite thing to do: “Walking on campus, every day for 3 miles,” according to her owner James Knight.
Funny story: “She keeps digging into the chicken coop, not to eat the chickens, but to eat the stale bagels I feed them,” Knight said.
Fun fact: She loves to hang out at Espresso Art, and she was a Sim Dog for Halloween.
Nala
Type/Breed: Lab shorthair pointer mix
Age: 3 months
Favorite thing to do: Any kind of playing! Fetch, tug of war, etc.
Funny story: “She has an affinity for beer,” said her owner, criminal justice senior Austin Gooder. “Any time it hits the floor, it’s a rush to lick it up. Free cold beer. She’s a true college dog.”
Fun fact: “The first night we had her, she was very curious about what cactuses were,” Gooder said. “She learned real quick.”
Little One
Type/Breed: White hair terrier mix
Age: About 5 years old
Fun Fact: She’s a rescue dog who came with the name
Favorite thing to do: Go on walks, play with the cat, be petted.
Funny story: “When we first got her, she was afraid of her shadow,” her owner said.
Watson and Petra
Types/Breeds: Basset hound and Jack Russell/ “We found her in Montana”
Ages: 4 years and 3.5 years
“They’re exact opposites, but they get along really well,” said their owner, Victoria Olsen.
Favorite things to do: “Watson will sleep all day long and that is his ideal day,” Olsen said.
“Petra is my running and skiing partner. She’s definitely the athletically driven dog,” said their owner, Matt Sammons.
Junior
Type/Breed: Olde English Bulldogge
Age: 4 years
Favorite thing to do: “Either sleep, eat human food or come here,” his owner, Cierra Franklin, a communications junior, said. Junior rides the shuttle from The Retreat to campus.
Funny story: “We go to No Anchovies, and he’d sit in the actual booth, and they’d bring him a free gourmet slice of pizza … he’s getting better food than I am!” Franklin said.
Riesling
Type/Breed: Golden retriever
Age: 8 years old
Favorite thing to do: “She loves eating. She’s gotten a little fat recently,” her owner, Alyssa Schreiner said.
Funny story: “She’s afraid of water,” Schreiner said. “She’ll sit around the pool for four hours waiting for the tennis ball to come back to her.”
Fun fact: Riesling likes to walk herself. She holds the leash in her mouth and walks on her own.
Buddy
Type/Breed: Yorkie mix
Age: 7 years, 3 months
Favorite thing to do: “He likes cats, he likes the beach,” his owner Abhishek Kulkarni said.
Funny story: “One time he got loose in Ross [Dress for Less] and knocked over the perfume cabinet. They asked me to pay $2000.”
Gracie (The Daily Wild Cat)
Type/Breed: “We found her a week ago in a parking lot,” her owner, Canyon Smith, a general studies junior, said.
Age: 8 weeks
Favorite thing to do: Tear apart napkins.
Gracie was spotted walking on a leash down the mall. It was her first time being walked outside and her owner Morgan Postal, a pre-nursing sophomore, said the goal was to continue training her to go on walks.
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