Sophie is the best darn dog in the world. She is a mix: Australian Cattle Dog and Staffordshire Terrier. She's about fifty pounds of fur and muscle. She's also the sweetest, calmest, and cutest dog you'll ever meet. In fact, she is often referred to as the "gateway dog" because she is so mellow and cool, even non-dog- or cat- people like her.
She's very smart. She knows heel, sit, lay-down, wait (stay), clean-up! (for morsels dropped while preparing meals), and No more! when treat time is over. She also will howl on command for goodies or just for the heck of it.
She is also excellent off-leash. She's a terrific hiking and mountain biking buddy, she just runs behind your bike and sometimes will trail-blaze a shortcut when she knows a route particularly well.
Sophie is also an excellent hunter. To date she has the following confirmed kills: 1 squirrel, 2 rats, 1 mole, and 1 bird. Despite her hunting prowess, she is afraid of cats. Around cats she whimpers and tries to get as much distance between her and the kitty as possible.
Sophie is one excellent dog. Next time you are in the South Bay Area of California, look her up.
