Surprise—You Have Testicles!

Late last month, Adams Morgan resident Victoria Fort got an unusual text message from her husband: "Dog still has balls."

Suddenly, some of her Pomeranian's behavior made sense. Ever since she adopted the diminutive pup from the Washington Humane Society in May of last year, Fort had noticed decidedly macho behavior. The dog---dubbed "Tiny" by the Humane Society but renamed "Colbert" by Fort---couldn't walk more than 10 feet without spraying the nearest inanimate object. Colbert also barked a lot, and he occasionally humped neighborhood dogs.

Fort wasn't concerned, however, because adoption officials at the Humane Society had told her that the dog was neutered.

"We were told how lucky we were that he was already neutered so we wouldn't have to pay a neuter fee and we could take him home sooner," says Fort. "Our vet's only thought was that his [testicles] were so small that they must have been easily overlooked by the pound---Tiny in more ways than we had known."

Humane Society Spray-and-Neuter Coordinator Lara Mangan counters that they did not overlook Colbert's balls---rather, they fell into place after the adoption.

"Every once in a while a male dog can have retained testicles that wouldn't be visible from the outside," says Mangan.

In either case, Colbert's humping days were numbered. Last week, Fort took her dog in to be snipped, and the Humane Society claims that such oversights are rare. However, anyone who adopts young dogs may want to check, from time to time, that their animals don't have unexpected new equipment, Mangan notes.

"We recommend they go to a participating vet where they are seen for free to make sure...there are no surprises," she says.

---Sadie Dingfelder