When we adopted Nigel, his hair had been recently shorn. He was originally found roaming the streets of Houston, Texas covered in very heavily matted fur and had to be cut very short. Due to his colouration, elongated limbs, huge paws, and long tail, I thought he looked a bit like a mountain lion in dog form.

In the two months since, his hair has grown in silky and smooth (he’s definitely part Soft Haired Wheaten Terrier with Irish hair type) and I’ve been noticing that he kind of resembles one of those distorted medieval drawings of a lion. Not really a lion—not even a cat. A mythical creature that hangs out with unicorns. A catdog or dogcat perhaps?

The two drawings I selected mimic the fluffy hair on the top of his head. He’s developing quite a creamy-coloured, curly mane around his neck, and at this stage his long facial hairs look more like whiskers than a beard. The second drawing captures his goofy young dog personality. I added the last two photos of Nigel wearing his cute frog hoodie to show how long his tail is.