Franki the Blue-Eyed Black Lab/Dalmatian Mix?

Franki enjoys cooling
off in her pool on hot
summer days.

Hmmmmmm.  Living with a totally black dog with bright blue eyes got me curious about blue-eyed dogs in general.  It's a lot more common to see blue eyes with white, spotted, or merle coats, so it's a bit of a surprise for most people to see a jet black dog with blue eyes.  Franki is obviously a mixed-breed dog and looks "labby" around the head for sure.  She weighs 50 pounds and is much leaner than Labradors in general.  

Franki's size and body shape is long and lean, much like a Dalmatian's.

Ripley and Franki relaxing
after a hike in the woods.

And her frosty blue eyes are endlessly captivating, looking more blue or closer to white, depending on the light.

I also learned that it's relatively common for Dalmatians to have blue eyes, like this puppy pictured below.

So I am left to wonder ... is Franki a Black Labrador / Dalmatian Mix?

Regardless, she is a great dog with a sweet personality, and has brought so much joy and energy to our home. 

Finding Franki

I've been away from the blogosphere for too long!  Been busy getting my house and yard ready for market ... the "for sale" sign just went up last Saturday.  Right now, I'm just trying to find Franki ... 

I think I may have spotted her ...

Whatcha doin' back there, Franki Blue? ...

Seems there is nothing like an overgrown Viburnum shrub when it comes to shade.  :-)

"He wa'n't no common dog, he wa'n't no mongrel; he was a composite. A composite dog is a dog that is made up of all the valuable qualities that's in the dog breed—kind of a syndicate; and a mongrel is made up of all riffraff that's left over."

~Mark Twain

Franki Blue Eyes Comes Home

Well, Franki (formerly Crystal) has found a forever home ... with me! (For her back story, please read my post A Sweet Dog with Blue Eyes Needs a Loving Home.)

I had been thinking about adopting her since before she gave birth to her pups, but when I first met her, I thought she might be too wild for my more mature pack.  But I couldn't get her out of my head.  So I brought her over for a visit one sunny Sunday afternoon ... and never took her back to her foster home.  

It was a bit uncanny.  She went from being an unruly, unfocused creature, to a well-behaved (but still very active) and focused dog.  It was almost like she had just been waiting for someone to show her what was expected.  And I know that the other dogs helped her, too.  Anyone who has been around a group of dogs knows how much they can learn from each other.  

Franki sits, waiting patiently for a treat.

It took her all of 10 seconds to figure out the doggie door on her first day.  By the end of the second or third day, she stopped jumping on me.  She sits for treats and before she begins eating her meals, and doesn't try to steal the other dogs' food.  Instead, she waits patiently, watching the two slow pokes, Sammi and Ripley, as they finish their kibble.

Aside from a couple of naughty moments ... she chewed the lid off the large tub where I keep the dog food and stole some food off the kitchen counter ... she's been an angel.  And the joy and laughter she has brought into our already happy home ... well, I can deal with some spunk.  She's barely out of her puppyhood after all.  And I know I can count on the other dogs to help show Franki the ropes.  

Franki and Ripley ... just chillin'.

"I know that I have had friends who would never have vexed or betrayed me, if they had walked on all fours."

~Horace Walpole

 

A Sweet Dog with Blue Eyes Needs a Loving Home

Crystal

Crystal is a sweet dog with blue eyes who needs a loving home.  My rescue group, COLARS (the Circle of Life Animal Rescue Society), received a call from a concerned citizen about 6 weeks ago.  She had been feeding a dog who had been abandoned near a closed-down rural business for about a week.  She called us when it became obvious that no one was coming back for her.  

We took her in for a veterinary check-up right away and he noted she was pregnant.  The next day, she went into labor ... we had rescued her in the nick of time!  She had three pups.  Two black and one brindle.  After just one week, it became apparent that these were going to be BIG puppies.  They gained 10 pounds in only five weeks.  Since Crystal is a smallish lab-mix at only 40 -45 pounds, we had to wean them early ... in their enthusiasm to feed from her, they were causing her pain and discomfort during nursing. 

So now Crystal is puppy-free and we're waiting for her milk to dry up so we can get her spayed.  I went to meet her for the first time yesterday after she was transferred from one foster home to another.  She now has room to run in a very large fenced yard.   

The first thing I noticed was that she is VERY active ... and in need of an experienced, patient trainer. She loves people, but has bad manners, and won't even respond to her name.  But I could also see that she's got great potential. She was starting to respect me after only an hour of interacting with her. Her typical sweet and friendly lab personality endeared me to her, but she acts like a 6-month old puppy.  She has no focus and is "all over the place."  She jumps on people and needs help to learn some basic good social skills.  

The second thing I noticed about her ... once she slowed down long enough to get a good look at her ... was that her eyes appear to change color.  Sometimes they are crystal blue, but they also appear white or yellow, depending on the light.  

Crystal is definitely a unique-looking dog, at least as far as black lab-mixes go.  I hope that will help us find her a good home.  She'll need lots of attention, LOTS of exercise and positive reinforcement-based training.  I'm confident she'll make some loving person or family a wonderful companion.  She's got lab smarts, lab friendliness, and a beautiful, shiny black lab coat. 

 We'll only be giving her over to another rescue group with a trainer on staff (wish we did), or an experienced person willing to take on a project dog.  She's located in southeast Missouri.  If you are interested in adopting her, or know someone who might be, please leave me a comment here, or feel free to visit the COLARS Facebook page and leave a private message.