Pete’s checkered past

September 2026

Pete went from cattle dog and chicken chaser to beloved family nanny. Now we want to hear the stories behind Oklahoma’s best dogs.

There are a few things you should know about Pete.

We think he’s about 10. He’s a Jack Russell terrier. He’s blind. And before he became the beloved family dog currently curled up in our house, he had a bit of a criminal record.

Pete started life on my husband’s family ranch, served by Central Rural Electric Cooperative, where he decided he was destined to be a cattle dog. Never mind that the cattle had not asked for his assistance. He also developed an unfortunate interest in chickens.

Let’s just say Pete’s career in agriculture was short-lived.

My husband and I brought him to live with us. Pete took to town life quickly and he grew into the role he was apparently meant for all along: nanny dog to two little girls.

That’s the thing about dogs. Ask someone about theirs and you rarely get just a description of a pet. You get a story.

Maybe yours rides beside you in the pickup every morning. Maybe she works cattle, hunts alongside you or has claimed your favorite chair as her own. Maybe you rescued your dog only to discover that the rescuing went both ways.

Oklahoma Living is launching our “Man’s Best Friend” contest, and we want to hear members’ stories. Selected submissions will be featured in our January 2027 edition. I will read each entry, and probably laugh out loud or tear up at many.

Send us the working dogs, the couch potatoes, the accidental additions and the four-legged family members you can’t imagine life without.

I know from our Pete the best dogs don’t always arrive with perfect past. Sometimes they arrive with a chicken problem. And somehow, they become everyone’s favorite.