Does your state have an official dog?

[shenmue]

Bark Post squee here

The article is from 2014. It's still cute.

You probably know your state’s official bird, flower, flag, and maybe even rock. But do you know if your state has an official state dog? There are 11 states with an official state dog (plus one that has a special distinction).

[elleng]

1. YES!

The first state to designate a dog as an official state pet was Maryland in 1964. Maryland chose the Chesapeake Bay Retriever because the dog was developed in the Chesapeake Bay during the 19th century and because of the dog’s love for the water!

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Alabama's dog should be the Feist.

Very popular rural southern United States, but go back in literature as far as George Washington.
They came from England.
There has been considerable crossing of Feist dogs, since they are bred primarily for performance as hunting dogs. Feist dogs are the progenitor of what we now call the Rat Terrier. The Rat Terrier is a specific breed within the Feist umbrella. Because the word Feist refers to a general type of dog just as hound and terrier refer to a group of breeds, Rat Terriers are often called feist. The terriers brought to the US in the 1890s from England were crossed with Feist dogs already here in addition to some of the Toy breeds (Toy Fox Terrier, Manchester Terrier and Chihuahua) to develop the Rat Terrier we know today.

They are excellent squirrel hunters, bred along lines of Jack Russell Terriers, and different types of the breed can be found in different areas of the South.

[DawgHouse]

3. I have a feist (fox terrier)

and she is a force to be reckoned with!

[okasha]

4. Not sure about the dog,

but Greg Abbott is our official sonofabitch.