Wrinkles aren’t typically the most sought after feature when scouting for a cover model, but wrinkles are precisely what landed one rescue dog the opportunity of a lifetime.
Hoosier the Chinese Shar-Pei didn’t always live the life of a cover model. His story began with an impatient family at a pound in Wisconsin. The family, tired of young Hoosier’s wild behavior, urged the staff at the pound to euthanize the untrained pup. But the staff, seeing something special in poor Hoosier, convinced the family to instead surrender the rowdy wrinkle-face.
The pound contacted the North American Shar-Pei Rescue Great Lakes Region about Hoosier, and rescue representatives made the 1,200 mile trek from Fredericksburg, Ohio, to Wisconsin to transport him.
Completely untrained and unruly, Hoosier had a long way to go; but with proper training, the rescue knew he had the potential to become a great dog.His foster mother and longtime member of the Shar-Pei rescue, Lois Brown, loved Hoosier so much that she ended up making him a permanent member of her family.
But Hoosier’s happy ending doesn’t end there.
Tina Elkins, the senior photography stylist for popular greeting card company American Greetings, saw Hoosier’s photo online and thought he’d make the perfect cover-dog for an age-related card in development. His flawless wrinkles made Hoosier the very image of a quintessential Chinese Shar-Pei, and Elkins knew that card customers would agree.
After a photo shoot in Lakewood, Ohio, the once-deemed “bad dog” became American Greetings’ next dog star.
The greeting cards featuring Hoosier will be available in Target stores this fall.
