Mysti
Mysti is the junior dog of Clan McNulty. A Border Collie/Black Labrador mix, the dog which came home as a timid little eight-week old puppy has become a beautiful, 66-pound, bundle of love and energy.
After the loss of their dog Sheeba in 1998 the family had been without a dog for several years, when in 2004 they began to discuss perhaps getting a new canine McNulty. Debbie and Kevin had both long-admired Border Collies, and there was a very general agreement that perhaps that would be their next dog. It just so happened that on his way to work one morning, Kevin was listening to a local radio station that was featuring a guest appearance by the Tampa Humane Society's adoption coordinator, and a Border Collie mix puppy named "Kimberly" who the morning-show DJs described as "the sweetest thing ever."
Kevin called Debbie to ask if he could go see the puppy, and then he called the Humane Society from the car. He took an early lunch from work (which he got in trouble for, by the way) to go see her. It was love at first sight. When Debbie called him at lunch, he told her, "Hold on a second, I'm filling out the paperwork for the dog."
That was a Thursday...that following Saturday the whole family went to the shelter after visiting Pamela in the hospital, though the children hadn't been told yet about the dog. Kevin showed the kids the pen which held Kimberly and her two sisters. Erin and Kimberly found each other. When Kevin asked if Erin liked the dog and she said yes, Kevin told her, "Good, because we're adopting her." At first, Erin didn't understand. She thought adopting her meant something akin to adopting a highway or adopting a cat at a wildlife rescue. When she finally realized the dog was coming home with them, she was overjoyed. The family decoded that Kimberly simply didn't suit the puppy, and Mysti was agreed upon for her McNulty moniker.
Mysti immediately took to the family, though she was at first intimidated by Kevin's "alpha male" status as she would greet him upon his arrival home by rolling onto her back and peeing. A problematic habit to be sure, but one she soon grew out of thankfully. As she grew, Debbie once asked the vet how large he thought Mysti would get. Prefacing his comment with a warning that it can be hard to tell with mixed breeds, he guessed she might reach 45 pounds. She is currently a healthy 66 pounds.
Mysti loves to play, and fortunately found a ready playmate in Pugz Lee when he joined the family only a few months after Mysti arrived. Being part Border Collie, Mysti loves to run, and regularly joins Debbie on her morning warm-downs. She also loves chasing flashlight or laser pointer beams. Kevin calls the laser pointer the "remote control for the dog."
