Meet Tater

a small black and white dog with pointed ears and bright blue eyes lounges on an outdoor couch

Way back in April we decided it was time to get Gravy a bud to hang with. We visited the country shelter, scooped up this little lady, and named her Tater.

She was about a year old and found wandering the streets of west Phoenix. It really felt like she had a previous owner as she took to her name immediately, coming to us when called from the very start. She knew how to sit and how to fetch a ball.

We didn’t have any info about her breed, though we assumed some husky because of her blue eyes and curled tail. She’s got a weird build with a long narrow body and oversized head and front paws. She looks like a mishmash of different breed parts.

We had some luck with Gravy’s DNA test so we submitted one for Tater too.

Tater is a very fetching mix of 6 breeds! 28.7% American Pit Bull Terrier, 26.5% Siberian Husky, 24% Chihuahua, 7.9% Samoyed, 6.6% Alaskan Malamute, 6.3% German Shepherd Dog

We were surprised by pit bull and laughed because that chihuahua DNA is doing some heavy lifting, keeping her at a small 20lbs. I think she looks like a different breed depending on the angle you look at her.

side by side photos of a black dog in a plastic cone; on the left she looks more like a husky and on the right more like a pit bull

With her strange proportions, her natural resting position is a sploot. She clumsily flops anywhere and everywhere, almost like her front and back are controlled by two different brains.

black dog from behind with her back legs splayed out behind her dog resting her front paws on the arm of a sofa over a big pillow and her back legs are splooted on the couch seat; another pic of the dog with her back legs up on the sofa arm and her front lying on the couch seat

She sits on her butt, legs out in front like a person, finding any soft surface she can use as a chair.

dog sitting on a couch cushion and on another dog like they are chairs

Inside her huge head is a giant tongue that flops out when she’s warm and peeks out in some of the cutest bleps you’ve ever seen.

big tongue hanging out the side of dog’s open mouth tip of tongue poking out of dog’s mouth

Introducing Tater to Gravy took a bit of work. He’s a nervous pup and she’s just a whirlwind of energy. They’re learning how to chill and play together and it’s been fun watching them navigate their new relationship.

black dog rolling on her back in the grass next to a white and black speckled cattle dog black dog and cattle dog sitting on the couch together

In the mornings Tater is chill and cuddly, earning her the nickname Sweet Potato. And in the late afternoons she’s a total menace and we call her Loaded Baked Potato. She’s got an intense stare and plays with a similar intensity, though she’s surprisingly gentle with children.

She loves to chew and will eat anything and everything she finds, including feathers, wood, and concrete pieces. Her high-pitched bark will pierce your soul and she’ll chase a squeaky toy until she collapses.

black dog has intense blue eyes, laying on a dog bed with a squeaky toy as a pillow

It’s been a fun and challenging six months and every day she’s feeling more and more at home. We’ve been loving our Gravy years so far and we’re very glad Tater’s here now too.

dog smiles happily while laying in the grass