Meet Jonathan Horton and Harley

Event: Men's Gymnastics

Hometown: Houston, Texas

First Olympic Games

Pet's Name: Harley

Breed: Pomeranian

Age: 3-years-old

Where did you get your pet?

Harley really came into my life when I met my girlfriend, Haley. She wasn't in college yet and I used to drive from Norman, OK to Dallas, TX to go see her. Well, she got a new puppy (Harley) after she and I had been dating for about a month. I absolutely fell in love with him and her parents knew how much I liked him. So about a year after Haley had been in college, her parents decided that they wanted to move out to the country and now they live on about 20 acres of land. There are a lot of coyotes out on that land and her parents cared about Harley too much to put him in any kind of danger around coyotes. They knew how well I would take care of him, so of course they gave me Harley and ever since them I've loved having him around.

What is your dog's favorite thing to do?

Harley loves to play with my girlfriend's dog Boomer. Haley got another dog when she came to college and he is a Great Dane-Lab mix. He is about 60 pounds heavier than Harley but they are best friends and they play all day in my back yard.

Do you have any training tips?

Haha! Just don't let them get away with anything or they will run you quickly.

Does Harley help you train in any way?

He is just nice to come home too after a hard practice. He is always waiting for me and he's funny when I get home because he is so excited.

What's your favorite thing about your pet?

Harley is always great to come home too and I couldn't imagine not having him at home to mess with after a long day in the gym.

Also, Harley is a medical miracle. The vet told us he probably wouldn't live past 3 or 4 months because he told us that Harley has one of the worst heart murmurs he has ever heard. Well Harley is off the walls and the craziest must fun loving dog in the world.

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