What is she?

This is by far the most common question I get asked when out with Abby. And I don't know for sure that people aren't actually inquiring about what species she is, becuase sometimes I wonder that myself. Actually I lied about it being the most common question..it's probably tied with "what happened to her tail" and "can't you get her to shut up?". Ok, no, people usually only think the shutting up part but don't actually ask (because I wouldn't hear them over the manic barking). So...what is Abby? Who knows. I think I've finally come to terms with the fact that she it a mutt and I will never know what she is. But it's still fun to guess! She's 29lbs and about 18" tall. The most common guesses are mixes involving Whippet, Jack Russell, Aussie, and Belgian Shepherd. However - I don't know about in Utah, but I've never heard of any stray Whippets around here, or of any roaming Belgian Malinois. There have been a couple of "Border Collie x Jack Russell" guesses, but for one thing that thought is so scary that I would rather not contemplate it, and also, the only thing Abby really has in common with a Border Collie is the intensity, as far as I can tell. Oh and there have been the guesses of Boxer and Pitbull...uh...suuure. Another common comment is "she looks like a Mexican beach dog!". I think that if we threw all the dog breeds together and let them reproduce indiscriminantly for years and years, the product would be billions of Abbys. Now that is a terrifying thought.
If you look at Abby's brothers, their coats are more Jack Russell-y. A litter of dogs can have one mother and multiple fathers, but I don't think that's the case with Abby's litter becuase they look so much alike except for the coat (and act alike too - we met with one of the brothers' owners). Another mystery is why someone would crop their tails. Some guy at the dog park told me that inbred puppies are sometimes born with kinked tails that need to be cropped - not sure if I believe that. Maybe someone was trying to pass the puppies off as purebreds? It's all a big mystery...

Brother #1 - so cute! Look at those freckly legs.

Brother #2 - Cha-Chi....