My name is Robin and I am 17 years old and my dog Otis is 2 years old.

Otis has so many nicknames! For example: Oats, Otie, Oat Man, Oatsie, Otamis, White Bullet (he looks like a bullet because he runs so fast)...

Otis is a Jack Russell Cross. We have had many Jack Russell mixes in the past - four, I think. In the past, we have had adult Jack Russell rescue dogs and they've had many mental problems.  We just love the breed so we didn't give up on adopting them.

We met Otis at the Guelph Humane Society.  We were just looking, not expecting to find a dog that day.  My mother had said that we were not getting a puppy because they are too much work and we just don't have the time for one.  After we asked to take Otis out of his cage for a little walk and play session, we immediately fell in love with him and she changed her mind.  Later, we brought my brother (13) and my sister (15) to see him and we filled out the papers to adopt him.  When we first saw Otis, he was in a cage with his brother Tubby.  Otis was going crazy in there.  He was leaping up and down and hitting his head on the roof and shredding the newspaper in his cage, while his brother was sitting quietly.  Otis definitely is super high energy and knowing the breed, a tired, well exercised Jack is a happy Jack.

We have had Otis since April of 2010.

We live in house out in the country.  Otis has lots of space to run around in the backyard and we have an invisible fence to keep him safe.

Our favourite thing to do together is go to the lake.  We take him to Guelph Lake Conservation Area near our house where it is safe for him to run off leash and chase tennis balls.  He goes on long runs with my mom almost every day.  When he sees my mom coming down the stairs in her running clothes, he gets very excited because he knows where he is going and he loves to run with her.

Otis' best trick is when I point my hand at him like a gun and say, "bang"!  He falls over onto his side like he's dead.  Some of the treats he gets are carrots, ice cubes, cheese, meat or dog treats.  Another thing he does is ring a bell on the door knob when he wants to go outside, although sometimes he tricks us and does it for attention.

His guilty pleasure is getting into the garbage.  We have learned to keep the bathroom doors shut!

Otis doesn't like when play time is over or when you try and take away his toys. 

He loves tennis balls (especially squeaky ones), stuffed animals, tug-of-war ropes, cow hoofs and just about anything that he can get his paws on.

I adore Otis for his personality and his intelligence.  I love how he is always so friendly to everyone.  It is so cute when he settles down at night and falls asleep on my bed.  He is highly intelligent, incredibly energetic and will play until he drops.  On the other hand, he is a very cuddly dog who loves to sleep on our beds at night... and he sure is a bed hog!