July 2014, Rachel from Minneapolis, MN wrote:

“When we got Thor, we had no children and our goal was to have a well tempered family pet. Since then we’ve had two kids (Odin 2 yrs and Osgar 6 mos) and Thor has turned out to be equal parts family pup and guard dog.

We used to dote on him all day and night. With the arrival of little ones, we have had less time and attention for him, but he’s such a team player, that he doesn’t mind. He instantly adapted to them as part of his pack. He herds them and looks out for them. He’s very protective of his babies. When Odin was learning how to interact and starting to grab at our little dog, buddy. Thor would always be close by. When buddy would give Odin a warning growl or nip, Thor would wedge himself in between and herd buddy away from the baby. When family or friends come over and hold the babies, either of them, he has to supervise. He always looks to us to make sure it’s ok that a new person has his baby. He’s done this since Odin was born. If Osgar cries at night and I don’t get up right away, Thor nudges me awake and escorts me to the nursery, pushes the door open and waits outside (he knows he shouldn’t hang out in there) to make sure I get the baby.

We live in the city near a large park so we get the best of both worlds, but that can come with some kukoo people and animals too. He is such a big lovable doofus. He has, on more than one occasion, in the blink of an eye, thrown himself between a family member and a perceived threat with a snarl on his face, hair up, ready to protect. Usually, it’s an off leash aggressive dog that he chases off with a little nip on the butt, and comes right back to his loving self.

He’s constantly investigating bumps and noises and accounting for all of his family, even if we are on different levels of the house, even in the middle of the night. And while his counterpart, buddy, can be a bit annoying, Thor loves him all the same.

When he’s not “on duty” he likes to chew on his toys and chase his tail. He loves going out for a walk or run! He often suns himself on the deck watching all the birds and bunnies go by.

We love him and are so thankful you do such great work with these dogs. He is precisely the dog a burglar would run from, but our children hug!  Rachel”