Yay for Thursday, and another awesome Zen Dog Spotlight feature with happy go lucky and one of a kind, Rafa! Rafa is a bundle of positive energy and love, and did we mention how incredibly smart he is too! Rafa's been featured in our blog posts incuding: Zen Dogs > El Nino, Thoughts of Zen Dog: Rafa, and Zen Dog's New Year Resolutions. Rafa's easy going and positive nature creates an instant friendship with everyone he meets, and he is truly loved and adored by his fantastic family! Take it away Rafa!
State your full name and let us know a bit about your background.
"My full name is Rafa Lang. I was adopted from Second Chance Pet Rescue at an event outside of Petco. When my family was walking around our pen, I jumped over every dog to follow them! They were told I was a full-grown, year old, short-haired terrier mix so they were pretty surprised when I doubled in size and grew this crazy coat over the next several months! It turned out I was still a puppy and although I’m a “supermutt” with a bunch of breeds in me, terrier is not one of them! My family brought me to La Jolla where I love to run with the kids and watch the birds and the water!"
What's your favorite toy and why?
"My favorite toy is a green alligator from Muttropolis called Gator. He only has one eye left and he’s pretty beat up, but he’s my go to when I want to play! Before that I had a stuffed duck I used to carry around everywhere. The other day I was going away with my family and I noticed they all had overnight bags so I ran back into the house and grabbed my duck. I travel pretty light!"
Rafa and Victoria always have a blast on their walks together!
What does your typical day consist of, and what would your idea day include?
"I wake up early and jump on everyone’s bed to make sure they’re up, too. While the kids eat breakfast and get ready for school I patrol the yard and then try to go along for school drop off. After the kids are gone I usually go for a long walk. Sometimes its with one of my good buddies from DogZenergy (usually Victoria who likes to walk fast like me!). Once in a while I go to the dog park with Jake, which is a lot of fun! I typically follow that with a big drink of water and a nap. The rest of the day I play with my owner, check out the yard, and wait for the boys to get home from school! The next big part of my day is dinner and then a wild half hour of playtime at around 8 where I throw all my toys out of the basket and run through the house jumping over furniture and trying not to let anyone catch me. My family calls it “The Grand Finale.” I’m tired after that so off to bed for me! My typical day is also my ideal day so that’s pretty good!"
Rafa and Emmie another one of our Zen dogs, these two love to play and chase each other!
Who is your best friend and how did you meet?
"I love other dogs and I’m lucky to have lots of friends. My best dog friends are Abby, Patch and Bella. Abby has a huge flat yard and 2 goats. We love to run after each other and tease the goats. Patch is like a short-haired version of me so we get a lot of attention when we walk together around Windansea.”
What is the one question you wish your human would stop asking you, and the one question you wish your human would never stop asking you?
"I wish my human would stop asking me “Who’s the good dog?” because obviously its me! I wish she would never stop asking me “Do you want to come with me?” every time she leaves the house because I always want to go wherever she goes!” 2 other questions I wish other people would stop asking me is “What kind are you?” and “Do you shed?” I’m a mix of a bunch of breeds you probably never heard of, and no, I have no undercoat and I don’t shed!!”
6. If you were going to win an award at the "Oscar Pet Awards" would you want to win it for 1.) Cuteness 2.) Heroism/Courage 3.) Sassiness 4) Loyalty 5) Fashionista. Give us a quick example/story of why we should pick you!
“I hope I would win an Oscar Pet Award for loyalty because I am so devoted to my family. I would protect them at all costs and even when they are spread out all over the house, I make rounds to check on everybody. No matter where we go, even if I run far into the woods or down the beach, I never let more than a couple of minutes go by before I run back to rub my head on one of my humans to make sure they are ok.”
Any other insight you would like to us know?
"When I was rescued no one knew that I would grow into a beautiful, affectionate, loyal, smart, funny dog that I am today. I hope more people will take a chance on a rescue dog like me. Thank you DogZenergy for helping to make my life so much fun!"
Thank you to Rafa and Jennifer his amazing owner for participating in this weeks Zen Dog Spotlight!