English bulldog. St. Bernard. Corgi. Mastiff. Chihuahua. Lots of people have tried to guess which breeds went into the making of a puppy named Bighead — but most haven’t gotten it right.
This past June, Bighead and his four littermates arrived at the Humane Society Silicon Valley in California when they were only 6 weeks old.
The four of them were taken in by a Good Samaritan after being discovered as stray animals, according to Finnegan Dowling, content marketing manager at Humane Society Silicon Valley, who spoke with The Dodo.
The Humane Society Silicon Valley’s finance department employee Lauren Gallagher accepted the four puppies into foster care at her house, but she developed an affinity for Bighead in particular because of his peculiar appearance.
While Bighead’s brothers and sisters looked like normal, puppy-sized border collie mixes, Bighead had short, stubby feet and a gigantic head — hence the name Bighead.
“There were these three very normal puppies, and there was this one puppy with this ginormous melon head,” Dowling said. “So everyone was like, ‘Oh, it’s the big head puppy.’ I think she keeps meaning to change his name, but everyone has gotten so used to calling him Bighead.”
The reason Bighead looks different from his littermates remains a mystery, but Dowling suspects that the litter may have had more than one dad.
“It’s not unusual for litters to have different fathers, and to see a big diversity in those litters,” Dowling said.
Bighead’s unusual looks prompted workers at Humane Society Silicon Valley to get his doggy DNA tested. While they waited for the results, everyone tried their best to guess.
“It’s become such a big thing about what Bighead is,” Dowling said. “There’s an internal contest with a gift card on the line.”
The results surprised everyone — even Dowling herself.
“He is 25 percent Shar-Pei, 25 percent boxer, 12.5 American Staffordshire terrier mix, 12.5 percent border collie, 12.5 percent Lhasa apso and the rest are mixed-breed groups,” Dowling said. She also made an official announcement on the organization’s Facebook page today.
Otto, a Weimaraner, and Dozer, a Great Dane, are Bighead’s two older brothers. They are different in size, yet they both adore Bighead, especially Dozer.
Dowling remarked, “Dozer is incredibly gentle.” He only plays with him when lying on his belly.
Bighead wouldn’t be leaving when it was time for him and his littermates to find permanent homes, according to Gallagher.
Dowling stated, “I would assume that [Gallagher] has fostered dozens, if not hundreds, of puppies for us, yet has never retained one. But she still had Bighead.
“He’ll probably always be a short, stocky, stubby little dude,” Dowling said. “It would be interesting to see if he grows into that ginormous melon head of his. But I’m kind of inclined to say ‘no.’”
Bighead is really content in his home, said Dowling. By being adopted by Lauren, he “sort of won the dog lottery.”
Dowling and the others get to see Bighead frequently because Gallagher also takes him to work each day.
“He’s ridiculously spoiled because he gets carried all over the place,” Dowling said. “People are just constantly picking him up and carrying him around and taking him to different meetings. He’s a very sweet, social little guy. He’s definitely the office darling.”
As for whether Bighead will grow into his larger-than-usual head, the jury is still out.
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