DISCOUNT DOG

Were it not for the Deuber’s pet snake, Izzy likely wouldn’t have found her way into the couple’s expansive Strait Lane home. The ball python, who went by Jade or Nelly depending on who you ask, was the pet of Mark’s son, Gray. Like most snakes, she ate live mice that had to be bought regularly from the pet store. It was there that Mark spotted a little Shetland sheep dog, waiting patiently in her crate.

“She was marked down to a dollar. She had been there for four months,” Cary says. “But she was just so proud sitting there waiting.”

Mark was drawn to the dog, and not just because of her discounted price. It was clear she was no longer a puppy, although she was being marketed as one. He called Cary from the pet store.

“I said, ‘I can’t leave her here,’ ” he recalls.

At 4 years old she’s the youngest of the Deuber pack, but also the most well behaved. She’s a quiet, slightly anxious creature who is happiest sticking close to her mama. She lacks the moxy of Lily and the playfulness of Daisy, but carries a gentle demeanor that makes her the perfect third-leg of the Deubers’ trio.