As dogs go, perhaps none is more unique-looking than the Chinese Crested. Small and slender, often mostly hairless with speckled skin and silky tufts of hair on the head and feet, Cresteds are one of the only breeds of dog who actually need to wear sunscreen. In a world where man’s best friend is usually four-legged and fluffy, the Chinese Crested certainly sticks out. In fact, dogs of this breed are frequent winners of the annual World’s Ugliest Dog competition.
But one special dog with some pretty sweet moves is capturing hearts and proving, once and for all, that bald dogs definitely have more fun.
Nathan, an 8-year-old Chinese Crested dog with silky white ears, just loves to get his groove on, swaying and wiggling in his favorite green chair. One day, his owner decided to shoot a video of her doggie dancer and post it on the web. She never expected that Nathan’s video would be such a huge success, but thousands of shares and Facebook “Likes” later, it seems that everyone can’t stop talking about Nathan.
Once Nathan’s video was featured on Ellen DeGeneres’s popular show, it went absolutely viral, making nearly-hairless Nathan an internet sensation all over the world. His moves have been likened to a canine “GangnamStyle.”
The bald dog with the best dance moves didn’t always have so much to dance about. In 2008, Nathan was taken in by a dog rescue in Ohio after his owner died. Nathan and the person’s other dogs were left home alone for more than a week after their owner’s death before they were rescued.
After that tragedy, Nathan experienced several more. Every family who adopted him returned him within the year, so he was passed from home to home to home before the fittingly-named Bald is Beautiful (BisB), a South Carolina rescue that specializes in rehabilitating and rehoming hairless breed dogs, found him. By that time, Nathan had stopped trusting people, started fearing men, and would respond to anything frightening with aggression.
Thanks to kindness, patience, and positive training, Nathan started to regain his confidence and love people again. And after more than a year at BisB, Nathan found his forever family was right there under his nose. His foster mom, after spending so much time caring for and getting to know Nathan, finally decided to adopt him in December 2012. Nathan is now part of a very happy family; he has two brothers, Kramer and Gilligan, and also lives with another hairless foster dog, Diamond.
While Nathan has found his happy ever after, there are plenty of other awesome Chinese Cresteds, Mexican Hairless (Xoloitzcuintli), American Hairless Terriers, and more at BisB just waiting for the perfect family to come along.
“Often times, we get a call from an animal shelter that has received one or more hairless dogs,” the organization explains on their website. “It’s a breed less familiar to them, and frequently the shelters are unable to meet their special skin and nutrition needs.”
For more information on these adoptable dogs, to learn how you can help Bald is Beautiful and the dogs they care for, or for future updates about Nathan and other BisB dogs, check out their website or Facebook page today.
Source: Bald is Beautiful Dog Rescue Facebook, BaldisBeautifulRescue.org
