Pet Blog: Jamie Yuccas's Doggy Duo
It's safe to say the two biggest fans of WCCO's Jamie Yuccas have no idea she's on TV.
Dottie, 10, is a mix of Jack Russell and Rat terriers, and Murphy's a 7-year-old … something.
"Murphy is going through a bit of an identity crisis," Jamie said. "Some vets think he's a big Cockapoo, others believe he's a Woodle."
Dottie had an identity crisis of her own when Jamie first adopted her from a pound in Florida.
"Her name [at the pound] was actually Maggie," she said. "Maggie was my roommate's name. I didn't think it was wise to come home with another Maggie."
The name "Dottie" was inspired by her large spots; "Spotty" sounded a little too masculine.
When Dottie was spotted by Jamie, her days were apparently numbered.
"The PR woman from the shelter told me she was set to be put down. I couldn't let that happen!" she said. "So, I took her home. My husband thinks it was a ploy, but it worked."
On a trip to Petco on St. Patrick's Day, John was drawn to Murphy, who was sitting all alone at the store's adoption fair.
"He convinced me it was the luck of the Irish that brought us to this dog," Jamie said. "I wasn't convinced, so we signed up to be his 'foster parents.' After about two days, we called back and said we'd keep him."
Jamie says in both adoption cases, they were in the right place at the right time.
"It's funny, we were both so young, we hadn't done any research. We both just wanted a dog," she said. "I always did want a small dog and Murphy looks just like John's childhood dog, Shammy, so maybe we were looking for Murphy and Dottie and didn't even realize it."
Dottie is a social butterfly, but there's one dog in her life who seems to be a thorn in her paw.
"Dottie has to be the life of the party. She loves being around other dogs. She loves the Loring Park Dog Park. But, she has an arch nemesis," she said. "Daubie is also a Jack Russell mix who lives in our building and Dottie hates him. We have no idea why, because both dogs get along with other dogs. I personally think it's because Dottie doesn't like to share attention with humans, but who knows."
Murphy, on the other hand, mostly keeps to himself.
"He will go on walks, he will go to the dog park, but he really just kinda likes being left alone. He loves sleeping. He loves chewing on his antler. Other dogs, are eh?" Jamie said."He has Dottie at home who keeps him on his toes. I think he looks at every other dog like an annoyance. He also really doesn't understand big dogs. He won't be mean, but he barks at them to let me know they're coming."
When Jamie and her husband have company over, the dogs are usually under the impression that the visitors have come to hang with them.
"They really want to be the life of the party. They bring people all their toys and chew things, whether people want to play with them or not," she said. "Dottie can be a whiner if she doesn't get enough attention."
Dottie and Murphy are downtown dogs who live in a high-rise. With all the other people and pooches in the building and the neighborhood, they have a whole lotta scents to sample.
"They love all the smells. Sometimes it's hard to get them out of the elevator because they want to keep smelling," she said. "They also love all the squirrels in Loring Park. Luckily, I think Minneapolis has so much green space that it's been an easy adjustment to Downtown."
And you can take Dottie out of Florida, but you can't take the Florida out of Dottie.
"That's where she was adopted and she loves the sun and heat," Jamie said. "I will catch her laying in any sliver of sun. She will sometimes angle herself over the couch just to have her head in the sun's rays."
~ Stephen Swanson
From pit bulls to pet rocks, Pet Blog covers it all. If you have a great animal companion story or a pet-related event that deserves a spotlight, email sdswanson@wcco.com.
