Even for dogs, life’s adventures are much less fun when you don’t have anyone to share them with. Though Nola has been all over the country, some of her best times have been right here in Findlay, Ohio with her BFF Jupiter. The adventures of Nola and Jupiter are about 2 great dogs.
Now, a little bit of background on Jupiter.
Jupiter is a Catahoula Leopard Dog. This breed from Louisiana is known for hunting boar and climbing trees. They’re usually excellent swimmers. Although, despite looking like a traditional Catahoula Leopard Dog, he possesses none of the associated characteristics.
For the first three months of his life, Jupiter was kept confined in a tiny box. He couldn’t even take more than a few steps at the time. He had malformed legs because he didn’t get enough exercise. Once his Mom got him, the vet told her that he wasn’t sure if his legs would ever straighten out. Luckily, though, with time, love, and LOTS of exercise, you can’t even tell that he used to have trouble walking!
Jupiter and Nola Love to Wrestle
I wish I could say that when Jupiter and Nola first met, it was love at first sight. The truth is that Jupiter wasn’t too sure about the new crazy girl in the dog park. Jupiter was and is laid back and social. He trotted around to spend some time with every dog in the dog park. He gave Nola no more attention than he gave any other dog.
Nola, on the other hand, was anything but laid back and social. She picked one or two dogs that were her friends and pretty much ignored everyone else. Well, when she saw how handsome Jupiter was, she knew that he was going to be her best friend. Jupiter just didn’t know it yet.
Even though Jupiter was playing hard to get, Nola was undeterred. She followed him around, barking incessantly with jealously every time he played with someone else. It took awhile, but she finally wore him down to give her a chance. It was true love at first wrestle, because when they started wresting, Jupiter was finally convinced – this was his best friend!
Not much has changed in the three years that they have known each other.
Their friendship has matured in a similar fashion to human relationships – at first, they couldn’t get enough of each other. They were constantly wrestling and running around. Then, they slowly transitioned into the old married couple phase that they’re in now. While they don’t wrestle as much as they used to, they still love to carry sticks together, chase squirrels, and blaze trails through the woods together. And just like an old married couple, Nola is constantly nagging Jupiter, especially when he tries to play with other dogs. Of course, Jupiter just ignores her. The love is still as strong as ever.
Don’t be fooled by their cute faces, though – these two are constantly getting into trouble!
Let me paint a picture for you: Nola is on the ground and Jupiter’s teeth pull at her jowls so much that her face is distorted, and he drags her in a circle. Both growl so loudly that it sounds like a dog fight. Nola and Jupiter know each other so well that they know where the line is between fun and not fun, and they never cross it. They have never drawn a drop of blood, and when Nola manages to finally get up, she lunges right back at Jupiter, throws him to the ground, and does the same thing he just did to her.
As dog parents, this can be scary to watch; how does that not hurt? Not to mention they both sound so vicious. While we know they are best buds, other dog parents have been so concerned (both with the seemingly vicious dog wrestling and the lack of action by their respective dog parents) that they left the dog park due to concerns about fighting dogs. There have been a handful of times that Nola and Jupiter have cleared the entire dog park just by wrestling with each other.
They also get into all sorts of trouble out on the trails too.
Nola and Jupiter, who will sometimes miss deer crossing the path 20 feet in front of them. But they will never fail to roll in a decayed animal carcass. About a year ago, there was a massive fish die-off at our local reservoir. The assortment of waterfowl and vultures left fish carcasses about every 20 feet on the path.
Half eaten, decaying fish may be disgusting to us, but we couldn’t get Nola and Jupiter to stop rolling in them. Now, Nola like to hop in the reservoir and rinse off. Jupiter, however, was not so easily convinced. He had to be pushed in. Even after several bathes with multiple shampoos, Jupiter still carried around the sweet aroma of dead fish for another month.
The Adventures of Nola and Jupiter Will Always Make You Smile.
No matter where they are, Nola and Jupiter will turn it into an adventure. Part of our responsibility as dog parents is to make our dogs as happy as they can be. This is true no matter how much trouble they get into, or how many dead animals they roll in. We always make sure there are more adventures for Nola and Jupiter to go on – because who are we to stand in the way of true friendship? You can see more about Nola here.
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