When I spotted the vivacious lab/pit mix Oslo, he was sprinting through the park on a wide, arcing track as if he was running trials for some sort of underground dog-Olympics.

Blissfully unconcerned to the state of his fur, his route cut directly through the swampy lowlands of the park, so by the time I asked his owners if I could snap a picture he was already coated in a stinking layer of black mud.

Like a rich socialite in the midst of a spa treatment, Oslo lolled and wallowed in the muck while his owner Lindsey looked on, shaking her head. “He’s going to have a bath when he get’s home, whether he likes it or not.” Apparently Oslo loves to swim, but rejects intentional bathing.

Described as a super sweet, affectionate pet, Oslo occasionally struggles with knowing his own strength and size. I experience this first hand as Oslo, like some supercharged swamp creature, comes barreling towards me in search of affection. I guiltily shirk away.

Like the sad kid in third-grade who has no friends, Oslo doesn’t realize that he is a smelly mess and that’s why I’m keeping a healthy distance. No matter, Oslo lacks the attention span to be properly rebuffed, and soon he’s shot off again across the park towards an older lady with a cane. Perhaps she won’t mind the fact that he looks like an oil-slicked penguin from a dish soap commercial.

According to Lindsey, Oslo is a smart animal, but completely fails to understand the game of Fetch. He’ll enthusiastically find a thrown stick, but as soon as he grabs it with his mouth he feels he’s accomplished his purpose and simply drops the stick where it is.

This of course, necessitates that the thrower find the stick and throw it again if they want the game to continue. So really, Oslo has tricked the world into fetching sticks for him, which is pretty impressive when you think about it.

Lindsey and Oslo’s relationship is a rare example of pet gifting with a positive result. Lindsey and a friend met him at the WAIF Animal Shelter on Whidby Island, and despite an immediate connection she resisted taking the plunge into pet ownership. After all, she was planning a trip to Norway; a trip that ultimately fell through, though it did provide the inspiration for Oslo’s namesake. The weekend after the trip to the shelter, Lindsey’s friend surprised her with a three-month old Oslo, and the rest is history.

Oslo has a loving owner, and Lindsey feels that owning Oslo has immeasurably enriched her life. So while gifting animals is never generally recommended, in this particular case it worked out well.