Of all the pets in the Christensen household, Boomer the bassett hound definitely stands out.
Sherida Christensen and her family own a cat, another dog, a goldfish and a hamster, but it was Boomer whose picture she chose to enter in the Good Housekeeping's "Search for America's Best Pets Contest."Once again he was a standout, winning the grand prize out of more than 9,000 entries. As a result, Christensen and her husband, Dale, will receive a 16-day trip to Australia. Boomer will appear in a line of cards produced by American Greetings.
Boomer is more than just cute. In the essay she wrote accompanying her entry, Christensen described how Boomer has always been a friend to her 14-year-old son, Adam, who has Tourette syndrome. Because of his condition, Adam is prone to in-vol-un-tary tics and movements, and this has made school difficult for him, his mother said.
"Children teased Adam and made him feel like an outcast," Christensen said. "Boomer sensed Adam's unhappiness and always attempted to pamper and play with him.
Indeed, Adam says he looks forward to coming home from school to wrestle or go in-line skating with his canine companion, although he says Boomer's gained some weight and doesn't trot as fast.
"That's my boy," he said, holding Boomer on his lap and kissing his nose.
Boomer's story began, as most dog stories do, when he was a puppy. "Five years ago our daughter's friend got him as a graduation present, but she couldn't keep him, so she came to us," Sherida said. "I had said, `No more dogs!' Then we saw him and I couldn't resist. We fell in love with him."
Why the name Boomer?
"You don't want to know," Adam quickly responded.
"There's two versions," Christensen said. "I named him after the football player, Boomer Esiason. My kids say it's because when we took him to Bear Lake with us, we had to roll down the windows of the car."
No matter. The two-way relationship of love between pet and owners has lasted through Boomer's crazy antics of tripping on his ears when he was younger, mimicking sirens when he hears them go by and romping around the yard to get as dirty as possible.
And the loving relationship will continue, even though Christensen said they've lately had to put up with a more-hyper-than-usual bassett hound who seems to revel in his newfound celebrity.