Dem
51
Ties
3
GOP
46
Actually, to be entirely correct, it's Tuco Hashbrown Chorizo "T.H.C." Bates. That was crowdsourced, though the 'Tuco' part comes from the highly excitable, extremely cunning, often thieving character from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Back on the Fourth of July, (Z) wrote that it was absolutely necessary for him to be home that evening. And after the wet-fusebox fiasco last week, he wrote that he simply couldn't leave the apartment in darkness for the evening. Several readers interpreted those clues correctly; the exalted post of staff canine is no longer vacant:
The picture on the left is Tuco as he was on the day he came home from the animal rescue. The picture on the right shows a shoe that met a terrible fate later that same day. The police are unsure as to who might have murdered the shoe, though the photo may contain a clue in the lower-right-hand corner.
There is much that is not known about Mr. Tuco. The rescue said he's about 2 years old, but (Z), the dog walker and the vet all think the correct age is more like 1. His behavior is more consistent with a younger age, so is the fact that not all of his baby teeth were yet out when he came home. There is also relatively little agreement on what breeds he has within him. He is unquestionably part dachshund, but as to the rest, the folks at the rescue thought it was probably chihuahua, making him a chiweenie. The vet, on the other hand, thinks that the non-dachshund part is mostly terrier. A DNA test would presumably answer that question definitively, but perhaps it is best to leave the matter shrouded in mystery.
There is a reason he is named in honor of a shameless thief. Many, many reasons, to be precise. There was, for example, a turkey burger sitting up on the dining room table, in a paper bag, when (Z) left yesterday to go to the store. It was not sitting there anymore when he got back home, 20 minutes later. There are no chairs close by, so how a 1-foot-tall dog managed to retrieve a bag off a 3-foot-tall table is an interesting question. Certainly, when it comes to plotting and planning and scheming so as to lay hands (well, paws) on food, Tuco would have given Staff Dachshund Flash a run for his money. And THAT is saying something.
Some dogs are "people" dogs. Some dogs are "dog" dogs. Tuco loves both, and wants to meet every person and canine he sees. His best good friend is Darcy, who lives down the street:
They have play dates together once or twice a week, and sometimes go to the dog park together as well.
Welcome to the staff, Tuco! (Z)