Social Media Hound Elmo at the Yappy Christmas Raffle

Posted by Belinda - Social Media Manager

Everyone who meets Elmo loves him.  He's super cute, super friendly and very photogenic.  He is our Social Media Hound cos every time I post his photo, we always get lots of likes!

Pup Reporter Alexia, with Social Media Hound Elmo, at the Yappy Christmas Raffle

I've had Elmo for a year and a half, and it seems like the longer I have him, the more quirks he develops.  Not sure if that's from living with me, or whether he's always had these funny habits, but I reckon a lot of them came from his life before I adopted him.  The RSPCA didn't have any history on him, but I strongly believe he came from a puppy farm.

Someone told me once that some dogs like to jump onto other dogs as a form of dominance.  Well, it seems like Elmo like to jump on female dogs, and when I say jump on them, I mean mount them from behind.  Yep, I suspect he's had quite a few fluffy white offspring from his time at the puppy farm.  But over a year after his desexing surgery I didn't think he'd still be in the habit of trying to hump the lady dogs!

Elmo is grumpy because he didn't want to wear the Santa hat!

Look at him, he's so cute!  Yes he is and I love him to bits, but his past life keeps intruding into the present.  I can't walk him past wheelie bins without him freezing and pulling away with fear.  And he has the same reaction to running water and outdoor taps. 

And did I mention he is a peeing machine?  No bush, no post, no tree trunk, is immune to Elmo's piddle.  At our recent Christmas raffle he spotted him cocking his leg against the Executive Producer's handbag, a water bowl, a few table legs, some random Christmas decorations left lying on the ground, and every tree trunk in close proximity.  I've been told that for Elmo, marking is a natural behaviour for him and to try and change this would just confuse and stress him. 

So I am resigned to having to watch him like a hawk every time he's around other dogs, in case I have to run in to stop him from humping a lady dog or weeing against someone's property.

Elmo is popular with the ladies, both two and four-legged, as seen here with Intan Lay

No you can't tell just by looking at him that Elmo has these quirks.  But I would never give him up just because he tried to have his way with three female Cavaliers in one afternoon.  Just because Elmo can't have puppies anymore, that doesn't stop him from trying!  Honestly, I think he doesn't know his boy bits are gone for good.

What breed is Elmo?

Posted by Belinda - Social Media Manager

My dog Elmo is a male Bichon Frise cross.  When I adopted him from RSPCA VIC they identified his breed as that.

He definitely had a Bichon face, but he's smaller than typical Bichons.  Plus his coat is less dense and he has clear nails instead of black ones.

Random dog lovers I encounter on the street like to play 'Guess the breed' with my dog.  Most of the time they think he is Maltese, poodle, or shihtzu.  On rare occasions people guess correctly because they have their own Bichon at home.

Elmo, aka YHTV's Social Media Hound, at Mentone Beach

I was having a meal in St Kilda with Elmo once, and the French waitress knew he was a Bichon cross because her own dog in France was one.  And she was telling me how much she missed her dog too.

Random strangers who normally wouldn't have anything to do with me will come up to me and Elmo just to start conversations about Elmo or to talk about their own dogs.  It doesn't matter what age or background they are, kids and adults alike will just come up to us and tell me what a cute dog I have.

One of these days I will get the dog breed DNA test to find out exactly what mix of breeds he is, just cos I'm curious.  But in the end it doesn't matter, cos I love him just the way he is.

BELINDA CHONG

The first time I ever met my dog - Belinda

Posted by Belinda - Social Media Manager 

My dog is cute, he's fluffy and very smart.  He loves all food, especially seafood;  I like to joke he is half Bichon, half cat, due to his deep love of fish.

My dog came to me via RSPCA VIC.  I had for a while been interested in getting my first ever dog, a small quiet one, and I thought a small adult hyperallergenic dog would suit my household.

I didn't have any expectations of breed or appearance, I just wanted a calm dog who wasn't fazed by much going on.

At the RSPCA in the last pen I saw a small white dog, with no collar and not even a sign on his pen.  It was sitting quietly on the bed in the back of the pen.  I looked at it and it looked back at me, not reacting much to me at all.  The dog was a bit on the scrawny side, coat roughly clipped and very short, with nothing remarkable to distinguish it from any other generic white dog.  

I did a circuit of all the glass pens and found myself back at the untitled pen.  This time the little dog was standing behind the glass door of its pen.  There was a slit in the door that was just wide enough to squeeze my hand through, and I just felt the urge to pat the little white dog.

As soon as my hand reached the dog's head it started licking me.  I was too shocked to even pull it away, or be disgusted.

Elmo, also known as YHTV's Social Media Hound

What's more, after a while the dog even rested its paw on my hand while still licking it!  So I knew there was something special about this dog...

He's not a shy, scared little dog anymore, but Elmo has his moments.  Like any dog he hates baths but he's also scared of random things like wheelie bins and running water.  I don't where he lived before he came to the RSPCA -  he had no name, no collar, and no history.  All I know about him now is that he's about 4 years old and he is a mix breed male Bichon Frise.

The RSPCA called him Elmo, and I kept that name because it reminds me of where I got him from. 

Everyone tells me what a friendly cute obedient dog he is, but honestly, he only became that way because now he has someone to love him, and to take care of him.

BELINDA CHONG