Hudson has some pretty quirky behavior, but his owners say he’s getting more “normal” as he matures.
BY HEATHER DUBIN | Yes, this rambunctious 2-year-old boxer is named after the street he lives on.
Morgan Rupert and Randall Roberson adopted Hudson together from a local pet shop when the pup was seven months old.
The couple, originally from South Carolina, both grew up with dogs. But they didn’t think it was practical to have one in the city, and had fun puppy window shopping on Sundays instead. Yet somehow, the little copper-colored boxer won them over.
“When we saw him he was already 35 pounds, and all the other puppies were small,” Rupert said. “We felt we had to have him.”
Hudson is a regular at the Leroy St. dog run in Hudson River Park, and according to Rupert, it’s his favorite thing to do in the world.
“He’s very hyper,” she said. “When I walk in the door from work, he’s bouncing off the walls.” They head straight to the dog run, where for about a half hour, Hudson, who is also very social, plays and wrestles with dogs his size.
Hudson loves water and spends time in the dog pool at Leroy St. as well.
“He dumps his whole head into the pool, which is kind of bizarre,” Rupert noted. She described his behavior, in general, as very quirky.
When taking a walk, Hudson likes to suddenly flop over onto his back.
“He often causes joggers to fall because he does it instantaneously,” Rupert explained.
After visiting the dog run, Rupert and Hudson take a walk for an hour. Hudson requires lots of exercise and goes for a total of three walks a day.
“He’s sweet, but he needs to get his energy out,” Rupert said. She’s observed him running laps at the dog park to release it.
Rupert feels their fifth-floor walk-up is a lot of stairs for Hudson several times a day. The couple is contemplating a return to South Carolina where Hudson will have more space to run and play in the grass, which he loves.
In the meantime, Hudson makes do within his apartment confines. Rupert admits to a houseful of footballs, tennis balls and nerf balls, and at 10 p.m. every night Hudson pulls out whatever he can find to play ball.
As for food, Hudson loves to eat anything and everything. When he was about 10 months old, Hudson ate through their entertainment unit, three cable boxes, a bathroom doorframe and a night table while his owners were at work. He was learning how to be alone at that time, explained Rupert.
Hudson is especially fond of bananas, and as a puppy, he went to great lengths to get them. Rupert had placed a bunch of bananas on top of their refrigerator where she also kept her wine rack.
“He actually managed to get on top of the fridge, which is full size, and grabbed hold of the bananas, and the wine rack ended up on the floor,” she said. “I came home to crashed bottles of red wine all over the floor.”
Hudson is a little older now, and fortunately for his owners, he doesn’t do anything like that anymore.
“I’m glad he’s out of the destruction stage,” Rupert said with a laugh.
