Maris, our Dog of the Month is an Entlebucher. What? Well, the Entlebucher Mountain Dog is a native of Switzerland and the smallest of the four tri-colored Swiss Mountain Dogs, which also include the Appenzeller Sennenhund, Bernese Mountain Dog, and the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. Entles are an active, high-energy breed with above average exercise requirements, so they are not a dog for the casual owner. Although primarily a herding and general all-purpose dog, our Maris is just a beloved, family pet! Still in her “puppy years,” Maris turned one in May. Maris is a happy and carefree canine. She worries about nothing, absolutely nothing. Not because she doesn’t have a care in the world. It is because she is an extremely confident dog that knows who she is. She is not afraid of a thing. She carries off her fearlessness and spunk without a hint of being pushy! How else could her ancestors have driven and herded livestock? While at Central Bark Day Care she has given up her herding instincts for play. Her favorite thing is the slide. She also enjoys playing with everyone. She is gentle with the smaller dogs, but plays hard with the big boys! (There’s that confidence again!) Perhaps Maris is an exceptional dog because of her exceptional “parents.” Maris’s parents are Jeffrey Rathbun and Jung Eun Oh, both endowed with exceptional talent and well known in the world of classical music. Jeff joined The Cleveland Orchestra as assistant principal oboe in 1990 and from 2001 to 2003 served as principal oboe. He is a faculty member of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music, and Kent/Blossom Music. He also teaches master classes throughout the United States. You would never know that this serious musician is the light-hearted, happy, man who is so in love with his dog that he positively adores and dotes on his baby, Maris. Jung Eun Oh, Maris’s mom, is a soprano soloist who has performed at the Kennedy Center, as a guest artist in recitals with members of The Cleveland Orchestra, featured in compositions of Cleveland Institute of Music composers at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, has won awards at European events, and her other accomplishments could fill several more pages here. Jung also formerly trained as a pianist. Jung loves Maris and misses her so very much when she travels. Maris feels the same way. This lucky pup, Maris, deserves the title, Dog of the Month, and her parents deserve congratulations for raising their delightful dog, and for their many musical accomplishments.
Congrats, Maris!
