Internet-famous Alberta dog with 'wonky face' bonds with his Texan twin
Peculiar pair of pooches with crooked snouts united at last
An Alberta canine adored for his decidedly unconventional looks and his canine doppelgänger, a crooked-nosed rescue dog adopted from a shelter in Texas, have become fast friends.
Brodie, a German shepherd-border collie mix whose unusual face has earned him social media fame, has a new playmate at his home in Red Deer — a rescue dog named Raven with the same lopsided smile.
Owner Amanda Richter says the two dogs make the perfect pair.
"They're inseparable," she said. "They follow each other around. They sleep together. They cuddle, all of those things.
"It just literally happened in a few days, which is crazy, but I'm really happy about it."
Brodie — who has close to 600,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 3,000 more on Facebook — has what Richter describes as a "wonky face."
His snout curves wildly. One eye bulges from its socket. His tongue lolls lazily from his crooked jaw.
It's believed that Brodie was bitten on the head by his mother as a puppy, leaving him with facial injuries and a partially blind eye.
"He looks a little like Quasimodo from The Hunchback mixed with the hyena from The Lion King," Richter said.
A perfect pair
Richter figured Brodie was one of a kind. When she stumbled across his look-alike a few weeks ago on Facebook, it felt like fate. She immediately filed adoption papers for the dog.
"It's actually really strange how much they do have in common," she said.
"They have the exact same little mole on the side of their cheeks, the same white line under their chin, the same little warthog tooth, the same white stripe on top of their nose. And their personalities are almost exactly the same.
"Raven is very quiet and dainty and sweet and gentle … But now she's starting to develop some of his traits. She's coming out of his shell."
Richter and her partner, Brad Ames, adopted Brodie from a shelter in Ponoka, Alta., in September, 2019.
Richter had instantly fallen in love with Brodie's misshapen face after scrolling past his photo on social media.
After adopting him, she was soon documenting his adventures on Facebook and Instagram.
Brodie's unusual looks and spunky personality have earned him his legion of followers. He has been featured in People magazine and in newspapers around the world.
'Meant to be'
Richter said Raven's cross-border adoption would not have been possible without help from Brodie's fans.
Raven was taken from the Fuzzy Texan Animal Rescue in Houston and put on a flight to Seattle. From there, a volunteer drove her across the border into Canada.
Puppy Rescue Mission, a Texas-based charity that most often works to reunite military members with animals they adopted during overseas deployments, organized the transport.
Richter had launched an online fundraising campaign to help cover the transport costs. Within an hour, the campaign hit its goal and has since raised more than $8,000.
Money raised through the fundraiser will cover Raven's medical costs and expenses. Remaining funds will be donated to the Fuzzy Texan Animal Rescue and Puppy Rescue Mission.
"It's amazing to me that that many people came together to bring one dog to one family," Richter said.
"It's bringing more awareness to animals and especially special needs animals ... with things going on in the world, it's just so nice to see positive news."
Richter said she feels overwhelmed by the generosity of Brodie's fans and is so glad to have her two matching dogs together at home.
"It was just meant to be."
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