We have made a critical and shocking discovery about TANK’s lineage. It appears that he is part lion. He is so liony that we are amazed, actually, that we had not realized it before. His coloring, the way he moves his body, those cute too-short ears, the enormous paws, the furrowed brow, the graceful lankiness of his muscular frame — it’s all lion. Just look at this striking comparison.
But before you start running off to hide your children and your groceries, an important distinction: Our lion is a very friendly, teenaged lion. He is no pride leader, our lion. He is no stealthy, ruthless hunter, our lion. He is just a sweet, goofy, lanky teenager of a lion.
And there is even more to the story than this. We believe him to be the reincarnation of a very specific, famous, friendly lion from history: Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz. For example: just like his ancestor, TANK is a big softie who is quite timid. He is scared of water hoses, stairs make him nervous, and the sound of sirens makes him whimper. When the little 15 pound dogs in our neighborhood bark at him from behind their fences, he ducks his head down and tries to cross the street to get farther away from them and their meanness. In fact, here is a photo me and my friends comforting him after the little maltese down the street almost made him cry:
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
lol very good! 🙂
Hey TANK! We don’t blame you for being scared of the Maltese; those little dogs can be SCARY!!! BTW, we’re not droolers, but we’re most impressed with your drooling talents!
*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus
Goodness! What a propensity you have for fostering seemingly “normal” dogs who turn out to be trans-species: Gonzo and his Bunny DNA and now
TankTANK mixed with Lions: cougar, African and literary. The drool surely comes from the dog side of TANK, eh? LOL.Awwww… poor TANK. It’s a scary world out there!
I love that he’s such a softie.
What a sweet goofball! I love when big, commanding-looking dogs turn out to be such gentle giants.
You’re right – he’s definitely got that cool lion stare down as well! We have a “non-American” Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They are wonderful dogs. Ours doesn’t have the same stature as TANK though.
Thanks for a great blog! I love reading your stories about the dogs.
Dear Tank,
It’s nice to meet you. I don’t think you look like a pussy at all [even a big one] and you shouldn’t let your humans tell you you do. Repeat after me…you are a proud D.O.G! and SCARY! Especially to littledogs, so have no fear!
Okay. That’s it for now. Love, Georgia xox
p.s. Your human looks a lot like Dorothy. Do you think she knows?
Very interesting discovery, I see it. At least he is not the one barking at other dogs right? Heaven knows people would take that wrong. Is he like that with all dogs or just little ones? Maybe he doesn’t quite know what to make of little dogs, or that he doesn’t know what they are. Just an idea
Have a great day
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
at least you know what to dress him as for Halloween
Bunnies, lions… I thought you fostered DOGS. 🙂
Tank is gorgeous! We have always loved the Cowardly Lion 🙂
Haha! Yep, I can definitely see the resemblance.
We thought we noticed mountain lion paws.
Benny & Lily
You never fail to improve my day when there is a new entry.
Aww TANK! Darwin’s the same way about little yappy dogs. They make her want to cross the street, or she’ll walk with me between her and them.
Just when I think I get where you’re going with a story, you veer left on me to a much better place. Well done!
just curious: where did you think i was going with it?
Good question. Maybe I thought the lion comparison was the beginning, middle and end. But the Cowardly Lion wrap-up with “you” dabbing away his tears was hysterical!
Am I the Scarecrow then?
if you want to be!
So perfect! I wouldn’t have seen the comparison, but you have laid it out quite well.
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Ha-ha, Alex! Just in time for kitten season!
Just remember, TANK, the cowardly lion was brave when he needed to be 🙂 And being lion-hearted is a good thing, just ask King Richard. xox