Banjo is his name-o

While on vacation in Virginia we also fell in love with and adopted a 9 mo. old puppy from a local rescue agency. We saw pictures of Banjo on line before we met him, yet never imagined he would come home with us nor be as perfect as he is! His demeanor is extremely loving, friendly and docile with any and all humans, especially young children, and other dogs. He stays very close, always follows us from room to room, and is fine off-leash, especially when hiking. We were sold on the fact that he can hike with us and is so well behaved that he poops 4-5 feet away from the trail! Lots of these photos are from a hike we did on the Appalachian trail with Z's brother and Banjo, including a hut/shelter for those of you that want to hike the trail someday, and one of the most famous overlooks of the trail: McAfee's knob. We think he is part cattle dog part shepherd part everything else = a perfect mutt. He has a natural fixation for basketballs, tennis balls, and frisbees. Whenever we see people playing these sports he focuses on them like glue and leaps back and forth as the toy is being passed between individuals. We would love to start training him with frisbee tricks, but he may never be able to play at the level that he wants to because one of his shoulders was almost completely destroyed by a close range fire arm (We can feel the bird shot under his skin when we rub him). The rescue agency found him in very bad shape on the side of the road, starving and limping. He received good medical attention since the adoption agency and foster care he was at is run by students in veterinary school. He still walks with a limp, but you would never know of his past trauma by his loving hellos and obedience/allegiance for humans. Infact, at the dog park he prefers to mingle with the people and their ball toys than with the other dogs! Can you tell we are smitten?!! He has changed our lives dramatically, but effortlessly. We have shifted our work schedules to accommodate him while making more time to hang out together, as a family! And we're certain he walks better on leash when we're all together than when either of us walk him alone! He walks into a birthday party or past people at the icecream store, and everyone melts at his side, as do we...