Welcome Ralphie

Ralphie sleeps near my desk during the day and occasionally gets up for a stretch and a quick game of fetch.  He's been taking daily 1 mile walks with Miles (my male dog) and me.  Miles and I like to walk fast and Ralphie keeps right up but he could go at any speed.  I let Miles and Ralphie go in the tennis courts today.  They both had fun running back and forth.  They had big smiles when they were done.  Ralphie does have a big smile and it almost reminds me of a pug.  He's got the fun personality of a pug too.  I don't know if he has any pug in him...probably not...he doesn't have the squished face....but he does have that short body.  That said, he doesn't appear to shed much.  When I pet him I don't get a load of hair on my lap.  His hair though is a bit course.  He's definitely got a lot of different types of breeds in him in addition to some shih tzu.  
I understand that when Ralphie has seen cats he's tried to chase them.  He's not a mean guy at all so I don't think he would ever hurt one.  I think he's just really curious and wanting to play.  I imagine if a cat put him in his place he'd back off.  I don't have any cats though so I don't have a way of testing this.
When Ralphie came to the rescue he had some red spots on his skin.  It was determined to be Demodex which is a non-contagious form of mange.  It's actually common and again..not contagious.  The rescue tried to beat it with natural remedies but that didn't work so he was put on the traditional meds which took care of it.  The medication is Ivermectin, the same ingredient in heart worm pills, and it costs about $20.  He's got some spots on his body where the hair is a little thin...but it's all there.  If someone didn't tell you about it you probably would never notice it.  He's over this hurdle now and looking for his forever home.   Don't let his past prevent you from thinking about opening your home to his great guy.  He's got an A+ personality and would do well in any home.   I'll tell you that I made an appointment at the groomer for him and I mentioned that he'd had this in the past and the groomer was not concerned in the least.  While we may not hear of it much in IL and WI,  it's not uncommon.  It can affect dogs who have been poor living conditions.  We've got Ralphie on a high quality dog food diet now to make up for his past and to keep him healthy!