Moosie, Our Beautiful Basset Hound

This is one of our three dogs, and the first dog I've ever owned! Moosie is about 4 years old now and we got him from a woman who breeds national champion dogs. In fact, Moosie would have been her next show dog and supposedly is the absolute perfect Basset in every way! Except for one thing. Moosie has a blue eye, and that disqualifies him as a show dog, but that also meant we got to take him home!

Basset Hounds are scent hounds and were originally bred in France to hunt rabbits and hares. Only Bloodhounds have a better sense of smell. These dogs are extremely low to the ground ("Bas" in French, means "low"), and this short height comes from a form of dwarfism. They are extremely sweet, gentle, friendly dogs and make ideal family pets. Unfortunately, they are also prone to skin problems due to their many folds of loose skin, they have leg and hip problems due to the dwarfism, and they have a number of other ailments as well.

RIP 12/7/2017