Cute Story on WI Tow Man's Best Friends

Wish there had been a photo with this story! Here's the Beloit Daily News story:

Hairless dogs part of family for Adcocks

Who still will be cuddly after he gets fat, loses his teeth and dangles his tongue out?

It’s a hairless dog, and he’s riding in a tow truck near you. Chris Adcock, owner of Adcock Towing and Recovery, cruises the streets of Beloit with a partially-nude Newman.

Yes, he may have a sprig of hair on his head, and a tuft on his toes and tail, but he’s all bare in the middle. Clad in pajamas and a cardigan, Chris Adcock’s friend has been riding shotgun through the snowy streets of Beloit for three winters. Those stranded on the side of the road are a bit shocked when they what looks like a troll doll staring them down, but they usually end up with a smile.

“He sits on the center console and sleeps,” Chris Adcock said. “Everybody that rides with him likes him.”

Newman has his own bed in the tow truck and the shop. Chris admits he never imagined his bare fleshed pup would become such a close friend.

“If I stay in bed, he won’t even get out,” he added.

Chris and his wife, Michelle, always loved dogs, but Chris preferred big dogs, especially his mammoth black German Shepherd named Max.

Because of Michelle’s allergies, she became entranced with hairless dogs she saw on dog shows. She heard they were very affectionate, didn’t bark much and could do tricks. One person told her their warm tummies were good for people with arthritis. So when she found a Chinese crested dog advertised in Beloit, she knew he was the one.

Her husband, however, had his doubts when he saw the hairless Newman, joking that the hairless male needed to put on a pair of pants.

“I said ‘What the heck is it and I hope it doesn’t live here,’” Chris Adcock said.

“He’s just ugly,” joked neighbor Gary Wescott.

Although Michelle said the dogs were raised to chase rats on ships, neighbor Gary said Newman was the one who looked like a rat.

But Michelle loved the cuddly and affectionate dog and set out to find his mate. After finding Sadie, for sale on Elevator Road in Roscoe in 2008, the two quickly had two male puppies — Caine and Delko.

The Chinese crested dog come in different varieties born within the same litter, depending on how much hair they have. There is the hairless, the hairy hairless and the powder puff.

The difference between a very hairy hairless and a powderpuff is that the hairless has a single coat with hairless parts on the body, while the powderpuff has a thick double coat. Caine is a hairless dog and Delko is a hairy hairless one.

After the boys were born, mother dog Sadie got sick with a third unborn puppy, and Michelle had raise the palm sized pups with the use of a heat lamp. She fed them every few hours with a bottle, forming a tight bond.

“It was like a child,” she said.

The Adcocks weren’t the only ones warming up to the skinned pooches. Gary Wescott’s family took such a liking to Sadie, they adopted her leaving the other three with the Adcocks.

These day Newman and the big dog Max hang out in the front yard together. Although the Adcock’s have heard their human like flesh need sunscreen, Newman seems to know when to get out of the sun. And as long as he has a warm sweater on, he doesn’t mind heading out in the snow to help with a tow.