Check Out These Adorable DC-Area Pets - Washingtonian

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We're into dogs and cats, sure, but here's what it's also like to own a miniature pot-bellied pig, a leopard gecko, and other creatures great and small.

Age: 14 months
Lives in: Brookland
Lives with: Spencer and Alison Launer

When it came to getting a dog, Spencer Launer admits to a bit of melodrama: "I nagged my wife for months. I believe my line was 'You are depriving us of our optimum joy in life.' She is not a dog person. Until she met John." Alison isn't the sheepadoodle's only new fan. "We live on a corner lot, so he sprints along the fence as neighbors pass by," says Spencer. "John has become quite the heartthrob with the tween girls."

When it came to getting a dog, Spencer Launer admits to a bit of melodrama: "I nagged my wife for months. I believe my line was 'You are depriving us of our optimum joy in life.' She is not a dog person. Until she met John." Alison isn't the sheepadoodle's only new fan. "We live on a corner lot, so he sprints along the fence as neighbors pass by," says Spencer. "John has become quite the heartthrob with the tween girls."

What's in a Name?
John was named after one of the Launers' favorite musicians, John Prine, who passed away from Covid.

Favorite Toy
"A very large Frisbee that he grabs and throws over his head while he zooms around the yard," Spencer says.

All That Fur
"Sheepdogs require a lot of maintenance," says Spencer. "We have gone through five brushes." Now they swear by a Chris Christensen wooden brush with no joints to break and a Maxpower Planet dematter.

Favorite Treat
Peanut butter. "We often freeze a Kong filled with peanut butter to give him before we leave for an extended period," Spencer says. "He also loves peanut-butter-stuffed shin bones."

Fun Sheepadoodle Fact
Spencer grew up with an Old English sheepdog, but Alison is allergic, so they opted for a hypoallergenic poodle mix. Another benefit: Male sheepdogs can weigh up to 100 pounds, while sheepadoodles are typically less. John is 65 pounds.

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Age: Two

Lives in: Cottage City

Lives with: Clare Foster and their mom, Shonda Gilliland, and brother, Brendan

For Christmas 2019, Clare Foster, now a sixth-grader at College Park Academy, wanted a new pet. "I had never had a reptile as a pet before," Clare says, "so I was curious what it was like." After considering several options, including a bearded dragon, they settled on a gecko. "I find the way leopard geckos look to be very cool." Just as with their two cats and a dog, Clare can hold and pet Frank. "I am not sure if he likes it, but he has never bitten me."

Not-So-Stupid Pet Trick
If someone sticks a tongue out at Frank, he will stick out his.

A Gecko's Day
"Frank is very laid-back: He sleeps most of the time during the day and sometimes comes out of his caves to explore his enclosure," Clare says. Reptiles need lights to regulate body temperature; Frank often climbs up to a spot where he can "sunbathe."

Frank's Diet
Mealworms, of which he eats about a dozen every two to three days. The worms can't just be dropped into the tank; geckos are lazy, says Shonda. Someone has to hold them in front of Frank.

Low Maintenance
Geckos usually pick a spot in their terrarium that essentially becomes the toilet, and they'll go only there.

Fun Gecko Fact
Leopard geckos can live 20 years. "I've joked with Clare that Frank will be their college roommate," Shonda says.

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Age: Four

Lives in: Potomac

Lives with: Nadia and Joe Husty

Nadia and Joe Husty were living in an apartment in DC when they decided to get a dog, so they opted for a compact French bulldog. "They are just the cutest," Nadia says, although "I read a——completely false——article that said Frenchies don't shed." Hank's big personality, she adds, proved popular on 14th Street. "Every shop owner knew him, and he knew where they had treats." During the pandemic, the couple moved to Potomac; Hank now romps around on two acres, chasing lizards and squirrels.

Favorite Trick
"He does a high-five, which is pretty cool," Nadia says.

High Maintenance
"They tend to have a lot of skin allergies. Hank takes probiotics and fish oil and gets a monthly allergy shot," says Nadia. "I'm pretty high-maintenance, but he wins on trips to the dermatologist, so definitely get pet insurance!"

Favorite Pet Retailer
Maxbone. Nadia says she's "obsessed with their aloe-and-oatmeal shampoo that smells like piña coladas." Maxbone is also where Hank got his hoodie.

Creature of Habit
"This boy is all routine," says Nadia. "He gets breakfast, late lunch, and what we call his 'midnight snack' at 7:30 every night. When he's done, he wants to go upstairs to bed. On nights my husband and I stay up a little later, he puts one paw on the step and looks back at us and huffs."

Clothes Hound
Hank has a closet of his own, with sweaters, sweatshirts, and other apparel on little hangers. "We don't have human babies, so we just spoil him rotten," Nadia says. "He rocks a hoodie pretty well."