"Ranger is the most beautiful dog I've ever seen," said Steve. "He has a long golden coat; short, pointed ears; a pointed muzzle; and deep-set dark eyes. He's a big boy, weighing in at about 80 pounds, but very gentle. The baby hugs him and crawls on him, and our six-year-old takes him for walks."

"Pavlov is everything I want in a pet," Mary said. "He's a great apartment dog, loves to do tricks, and sits on my lap in the evenings. When I take his leash out of the closet, he goes crazy because he loves our walks in the park."

"General is a great guard dog," said Martin. "We live in a not-so-good neighborhood, and I feel safe with him around. He barks whenever anyone approaches the yard and sounds ferocious, but he probably wouldn't hurt anyone."

"I don't know what I'd do without Muffin," Pat said about her little white dog. "She brightens my days and keeps me from sitting still too much. We take care of each other."

Ranger, Pavlov, General, and Muffin are all mixed breed dogs adopted from animal shelters or obtained from friends or neighbors whose unspayed bitch was romanced by the dog down the street. They are living proof that the mixed breed dog can be just as competent, just as reliable, and just as loyal as a carefully chosen purebred dog.

Each year, the American Kennel Club registers more than a million purebred dogs of more than 130 breeds. The United Kennel Club registers more than 160 breeds, and worldwide, about 400 breeds are recognized. Thousands of commercial kennel produce tens of thousands of purebred dogs that are never registered. Yet most of the dogs in the world are at least a mixture of two breeds and often a multi-breed combination like the famous 57 varieties of Heinz products.

These dogs are known variously as crossbreeds, usually a mixture of two different purebred dogs; mixed breeds, dogs that may be of a recognizable type (terrier, spaniel, retriever, hound, etc.) but with parents of mixed heritage; mongrels, dogs of unknown parentage that tend to roam; and pariahs or curs, nonde dogs that live on the fringes of civilization.

The terms get blurred sometimes when people give "breed" names to mixed breed dogs. For example, perusal of the classified section in the daily newspaper often produces a plethora of Poodle mixes advertised as Yorkie-poos (Yorkshire Terrier-Poodle), Malti-poo (Maltese-Poodle), Cocker-poo (American Cocker Spaniel-Poodle), Schnoodle (Miniature Schnauzer-Poodle), etc.

But no matter what they are called, mixed breed dogs can be wonderful pets if they are socialized and trained as puppies.

Mixed breed dogs appear to outnumber purebreds by a substantial number. The 1994 survey of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association estimates more than 50 million dogs in US households, and other estimates place the number of purebred dogs at about 20 million. A walk through a community animal shelter seems to confirm the prevalence of mixed breed dogs, which make up about 70-80 percent of shelter populations.

Nonetheless, many people consider mixed breeds to be the lower caste of pets, acceptable for a first dog maybe, but those who aspire to become serious pet owners think they should 'trade up' to a purebred dog that fits certain stereotypical situations. Thus the Golden Retriever or Labrador Retriever is the ultimate family dog; the Rottweiler the penultimate guard dog; the Sheltie the perfect little girl's pet; the German Shepherd the best child's protector, and so on. However, dog owners should feel no shame in announcing they own a mixed breed pet, for these dogs too can be perfect for the family, the apartment, the children, the jogging father, the stay-at-home grandma -- you name it, a mixed breed can do it.

The trouble comes in when people perceive the mixed breed as a single breed, as in "Mixed Breed dogs are healthier than purebreds, aren't as high-strung as purebreds, are friendlier than purebreds, live longer than purebreds, etc." Recent attempts to denigrate purebreds as genetically unfit animals bred by greedy exploiters go overboard in extolling the virtues of mixed breed dogs and muddy the waters. The truth is, mixed breed dogs can be healthy, loyal, friendly, protective, yappy, sickly, aggressive, gentle, easy to train, hard to train, aloof, too big, too active, too hairy, sweet, obedient, beautiful, or stubborn -- just like purebred dogs. An individual dog should be considered on his own merits without regard to his parentage.