A lot of people ask a lot of questions about Abner when we walk in public places and I have gotten used to most of the remarks people make. Most people are friendly and are excited to see Abner and in general, are polite about asking to pet him or take his picture. Every once in a while though, one comes along that amazes me.

Today, we went to Biltmore for a nice hike, mostly in lightly traveled trails, but we did end up taking a break in the stable courtyard under the arch on one of the benches where we usually stop for a treat or two and some water. It is shady, frequently has a nice breeze, and I can usually get a bench to myself so I can put Abner's water bowl down next to me on the seat. The arch is also the route into the Stable Cafe and several of the gift shops so lots of people do walk by, and we are quite accustomed to chatting with passers by and answering the inevitable questions about Abner's breed and a few other standard queries.

After we had been there for about 10 minutes, and Abner had had his treats and water, I was just about ready to pack up and head back down the Ambler's Trail to the lagoon where we were parked, when a woman and her young daughter approached us. She asked me what kind of dog Abner was and I responded that he is a Great Pyrenees. She looked at me somewhat skeptically and asked if I was certain. I assured her that of this particular fact, I was absolutely certain, whereupon she began to argue with me that she thought I was wrong. It seems that Abner is a dead ringer for her dog which she informed me is an "Antarctic Sheepdog". I almost burst out laughing on the spot. I resisted asking her what a sheepdog would do in Antarctica unless they herd penguins and seals. She was positively insistent that Abner had to be the same breed as her dog because they looked exactly alike other than that he is bigger. Of all the guesses people have had as to what he is, this was the topper. Polar Bear and Newfoundland Dog are the most common guesses and one woman once concluded that if he was from the Pyrenees then he must be Egyptian, but no one had ever come up with the highly rare Antarctic Sheepdog before.

I decided that it was odd enough that the situation merited its own little post.