Over Thanksgiving Leave, I had the pleasure of meeting a new member of my family, Alvin. My brother got him from the Humane Society. He’s a mix between a boxer, some type of hound, and something else.

He’s got a fun personality: very inquisitive, chipper, and playful.

Weighing about 45 lbs, Mike can pick him up and carry him around. He’s surprisingly well behaved for a pup. He only jumped up on me in the house once.

He spends most of his time following Mike or watching for people and dogs walking by. He might be small, but he’s packed full of muscle.

Mike takes Alvin for long bike rides in the hills, lasting for hours. Alvin never tires, merely panting on a quick run. Mike told me, “This dog is fast.” I believe him. I could hardly take a picture of Alvin because he was always darting back and forth between watch posts.

When I arrived to meet Alvin, Mike had already taken him that day on a 2 hour sprint up and down Dimple Hill. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t jump all over me at first. Mike says he sees a big difference in behavior between walk days and ride days. Alvin only gets the hard exercise if he’s running beside a bike.

We went outside to play with Alvin. Mike has a rope toy that’s good for fetch as well as tug-of-war. Mike played with him for a while as I asked questions and took pictures.

After Alvin wore mike out, I took a turn. I lasted about 3 minutes. Alvin jerked my arm around so many times I had to rub it gingerly when Mike and Alvin weren’t looking. One time I threw the toy up which caused Alvin to jump on me. His paws dirtied my pants. I cut my losses and stopped there. I was about to go to my girlfriend’s parent’s house for dinner. I didn’t want to show up trampled by a 45 pound dog.

We went inside, and Mike showed me some new stuff on his guitar as Alvin guarded the house. This photo didn’t focus correctly, but I still feel that it conveys a good idea of what it was like.

Alvin’s a great dog. I look forward to getting to know him more in the future.