The SPCA for Monterey County organized a friendly competition for naming a type of dog that is often found in the county. Voting ends on December 8.
Local animal lovers sent breed names to the SPCA for Monterey County last month and choices were narrowed down to five names.
The five breed name choices are:
Monterey Jacks, currently in the lead with 30 percent of the vote.
Monterey Terriers (Monterriers), in second with 23 percent.
McScruffies, 21 percent.
Steinbeck Terriers, 16 percent.
Otter Terriers, 7 percent.
Many of the furry friends who arrive at the SPCA are categorized as “terrier mixes, ” but the SPCA wants the public’s help to brainstorm a unique clever name for the breed.
“Every year the SPCA and other local shelters get hundreds of these adorable little scruffy dogs in. They are all kind of the same, maybe 15 pounds or so, all different colors, but 100 percent adorable, ” Education and Outreach Manager Dawn Fenton said.
“We just call them terrier mixes. That’s sort of the generic term we give for them because they look like little scruffy terriers. We thought it would be a really fun idea to give them their own unique breed name, ” Fenton said.
Fenton said the terriers have very sweet personalities and make great pets.
“They are wonderful. They’re very smart, they are very sweet, they love to play, they love to cuddle. They are just really great family dogs, ” Fenton said.
Unfortunately, 260 terrier mix dogs have come into the SPCA for Monterey County this year, but only 17 potential adopters requested that type of dog.
Community Outreach Director Beth Brookhouser said in October employees decided to run a DNA test on a “mixed terrier” named Zoey.
“When we received her results we were shocked. Zoey, an apricot colored wiry-haired puppy, was apparently a Shih Tzu/Miniature Pinscher mix with a little undetermined mixed breed thrown in, too, ” Brookhouser said.
