Which breeds combined to make this furball?

By Lisa Suhay

Correspondent

VIRGINIA BEACH

If "Star Wars" director George Lucas were given a free hand to design a dog, it would probably be Woofus. The Ewok-like mystery mutt is owned by Wendy Mezzenga, winner of The Daily Break's doggie DNA essay contest.

"Yes, he looks like an Ewok from the movie 'Star Wars,' " Mezzenga wrote in the essay that won her and Woofus a free DNA test kit manufactured by Bio Pet Vet. The kit will be used to determine once and for all which breeds harmonically converged to create the 7-year-old fluffball.

"He looks like a hodgepodge with different body parts that don't belong together," Mezzenga explained during a phone interview last week. "He has so much character. He's a rescue dog, so we really know next to nothing about his history or possible breeds."

Mezzenga said she hopes to find a way to solve some of her dog's personality quirks and perhaps get a cure for his year-round itching issues.

"What is nature and what comes from how he was treated before we adopted him? If his breed is prone to food allergies, we might be able to help him with the terrible itching," Mezzenga said.

Woofus is not the family's first dog. After their 12-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, "Hershey," died three years ago, the Mezzengas began a search of all the shelters in Hampton Roads to find a new four-legged family member.

"We looked for months with no luck," Mezzenga said. "To be honest, he wasn't the kind of dog I was looking for, but when we met, I just knew he was the one worth searching for."

The tale of Woofus is one likely to send shivers up the spines of dog lovers. He came from the pound in Isle of Wight County after being rescued from his former owner. Woofus had been left chained to a tree for so long that the chain had grown into his neck. After a touch-and-go medical procedure, Mezzenga and her husband, James, were allowed to adopt the then-4-year-old dog. Woofus had dreadlocked mats in his coat, shaved patches, severe dehydration and numerous wounds.

Mezzenga wrote in her essay, "He was certainly a mess, and my heart melted when he came up to me, crouched down and rested his chin on my feet - what a charmer he is.

"He is a dog that demands to be noticed, without doing a thing. I walk him on the beach and every person I meet stops, stares, and wants to know what kind of dog he is. All I can say is, 'Your guess is as good as mine!' "

While Woofus may appear in his photographs to be a small-breed dog, he actually is a solid 70 pounds.

Within the next two weeks Mezzenga will be able to stop scratching her head over what Woofus is.

"No matter what the test results show," she said, "we already know he's 100 percent lovable."

Lisa Suhay, lsuhays2@cox.net