Pet’s name: Otto

Family members: Glenn and Cyndi Olson

Type of animal/breed: Bichon Frises. We identify him to people as a Bichon.

Male or female: Male

Pet’s age: 9 years old

 

We obtained Otto from a Bichon breeder on Cape Cod. We chose him for his hypoallergenic qualities. He is a hair dog and does not shed. We went through a process with the breeder to get Otto, as she wanted to meet all family members to ensure he was going to a good, caring home.

 

Naming Otto was probably harder than naming our children. Each family member had input, and we ran through dozens of choices. He ultimately was named after Otto Rocket, a red-headed skateboarding character from the cartoon Rocket Power. In hindsight, we might have named him Ritz due to his love of Ritz crackers.

 

Otto has a tendency to do what is referred to as the "Bichon run." He runs laps at high speed around the first floor of our house, especially when he comes in from the cold. He used to be a sock thief, hiding them from us, but he seems to have outgrown that quirk. He also is quite smart and does tricks for treats.

 

Otto is a great lap dog and particularly likes to curl up during morning coffee with Cyndi on the couch. He’s great with the grandkids and lets them play with his toys. He’s also a great greeter at the door when we come home. Lastly, he never refuses to go on a walk around the neighborhood unless it’s pouring rain when we don’t like to go either.

 

Otto gets very excited when anyone comes to the door. Sometimes he can be a little too excited and has a high-pitched bark. We used to put him in a shirt which helped calm him down. We now just need to get the shirt out, and he calms down and goes to lie down quietly to avoid the humiliation of wearing the shirt. Another funny thing to watch is him trying to get squeakers out of his toys without much success.

 

Otto has learned to go to the door just to get a treat. He is motivated by food. We try not to always reward him, but he’s so darn cute and insistent that it’s hard to ignore his pleas.

 

Otto is a great friend and companion around the house. He has an innate ability to know when one of us is sick as he goes and sits with/on that person. Deep down, he must be compassionate.