I recently moved half way across the country with my family, and three dogs, for a fresh start and a recommitment as a united family. I pictured a lifestyle of home cooked meals, game nights and true bonding time. In the process of settling into becoming a Hoosier, I began a quest to gather interesting tidbits about our new state to spur conversation with my teenage, selective-conversationalist daughter.
Starting with the state flag, I moved on to lesser-known items like state flower, state bird, state tree, and even official state song. I found fun factoids that were interesting to compare to our recently departed state of Connecticut. Surely they would entice my incalcitrant daughter to talk to me– right? Well, although she met most of my “quite useful in a game of Trivial Pursuit” facts with a big eye-roll, along the way I also discovered all kinds of fascinating information on Indiana’s eclectic history. From Abraham Lincoln and David Letterman’s childhood, to America’s first long distance auto race (of course), Indiana is a treasure trove of Americana. However, one critical bit of information seemed to be missing….the state dog.
Spurred into an exhaustive search, I found no evidence of a state dog for Indiana. There were a few resources on the twelve states that have claimed certain breeds as their own, and we posted about each one on Facebook and Twitter. But, Indiana does not have a current incumbent. I see this as an opportunity!
So far, the most striking element about Indiana has been the vastness of the land and sky. Never-ending sunrises and sunsets, and displays of openness I’ve never experienced. To appreciate the state’s beauty, I feel one needs amazing vision -the gifted ability to see in all directions, to appreciate the scale of the world around you. For this reason, I nominate the Pug to be Indiana’s state dog. Pugs have big, beautiful eyes that can see in many directions all at the same time, they are small so see the world as vast, and have a “take no prisoners” attitude, exuding the strength to see more than what is right in front of them. And, they are just so darn cute. What state wouldn’t want a pug to represent them?
What breed would you nominate for your state and why?
