Orvis Dog of the Day: Livia!

Livia has been through a lot in her six years, but that hasn’t dampened her sweetness. photo by Stacy Pobatschnig

I was walking by Stacy’s desk the other day—she’s Orvis’s Sporting Traditions Marketing Manager—when I saw the cute face above on her computer screen. I asked about it, and Stacy replied, “That’s Livia!” and proceeded to rave about her for a few minutes. So I asked Stacy to send me the picture, as well as a description of what makes Livia so special. Here’s what she came up with:

Livia is a six-year-old, 15-pound rat terrier. She had a rough start to her life: originally from a puppy mill, she was sold to a woman who had dementia and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and would often forget she had a dog, leading to several types of neglect. Livia entered my life when the woman’s caretaker decided to send Livia back to the puppy mill. I heard about it from a friend and offered to adopt Livia.

Livia has had several health issues including a very rare type of autoimmune disease called black hair follicular dysplasia, a condition in which her body rejects black and tan pigment from her skin and hair. As a result, her head, which was once solid black with tan spots on her cheeks and eyebrows, is now white and on sunny days requires sunscreen. The autoimmune disease also attacks her skin, so any cuts or scrapes take a long time to heal. As a result, I have to be careful what dogs Livia gets to meet and play with. This disease became apparent over the course of two short years.

Livia is the sweetest, most loving companion and is one of the most playful dogs around, even though she is very shy and hides around strangers. Her favorite things are treats, squeaky toys, and more treats. She also loves to run around outside and enjoys hikes in the summer, but easily gets cold in the wintertime.

Although, it was clearly a rough start for Livia, it sounds to me like she’s found the perfect home. What a sweet face!