Southwestern College Collegian

Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Campus News

Dick Merriman, president, poses with his family dog Jasmine. Jasmine has been in the family for three years.

"There are two basset hounds next door. They're about twice the size she is, and they look like crocodiles. They're huge and that's how we got into basset hounds, playing with the dogs next door."

Dick Merriman, president, owns Jasmine, a three-year-old basset hound.

Merriman said he and his wife decided to purchase a dog of their own for their family in 2006.

"We went online and went looking at places in this part of the state that were selling dogs and found her at a pet place in McPherson. We went up there one weekend, checked her out, bought her and brought her home," said Merriman.

Merriman has had the luxury of watching Jasmine grow up.

Merriman said, "When she was a pup she had these full grown feet. The rest of her body hadn't caught up with her. It was hilarious watching her go down stairs. I never thought about going down stairs on all four and I tried it. It's hard to go down with your head first and she had a difficult time."

Jasmine is not intimidating. Merriman is glad she's a house dog and not a family protector.

"It's interesting. When someone rings the doorbell, she'll run to the door and bark like she's going to rips someone's arms off. But her tail is wagging furiously.

"Let's just say I wouldn't want my life to depend on her. She's not very ferocious," said Merriman.

"Her ability to sleep is impressive," said Merriman. "I've never seen a dog who is more comfortable. She'll sleep all night and sleep all day. It's unbelievable how much she sleeps.

"She's interested in the routines in the household. She knows when we're getting ready to go out. She knows when she's going with us or not. She basically knows human behavior."

Merriman grew up with one dog. When he started working he had a few cats because it wasn't hard to take care of them. His son was in fourth grade when they purchased Jasmine. "We did a test with a hamster and it died after two months. We thought he'd be upset, but he paused, looked up and said, 'Can we get a dog now?'"

Matt Webb is a junior majoring in communication. You may e-mail him at matt.webb@sckans.edu.

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