The day after. The fireworks have fizzled out, the festival has been taken down, the parade has moved on down the road. Bellies are busting from barbeques still digesting, balloons have all flown the coop, and the flags have been retired until the next patriotic occasion. Although the celebratory paraphernalia has been packed away for another year, one thing yet remains: freedom still rings.

Freedom means many things to many people. In our blessed country we enjoy the freedom to speak our mind, worship who, what and when we want, and wear our hair in any style that suits our fancy. We can sing in the shower, dance down the street and vote on issues and leaders. We can have a family of one or man and wife plus eight. We permit educational and vocational freedom allowing us to choose what we do for work and how much learning we want to attain. Creative and artistic liberty is found throughout every American culture. Just spend a day hanging out downtown and you will be inundated with freedom of expression in all of its many facets. We can tattoo, pierce and paint ourselves silly; sleep all afternoon on a hammock in the backyard or build a business selling whatever is on our minds. Our buckets are bubbling over with the blessings of liberty. We are only limited in life by our ambition, ingenuity and creativity.

Independence Day gets me to waxing nostalgic and patriotic all at once. And although I think Ireland is beautiful and Australia is wild, I wouldn't trade my life in the U.S. for anything.

In my sudden patriotic disposition I began to wonder which dog breed represented the United States of America the best.

There exist many dog breeds that represent other countries. I am thinking of the British Bulldog, the Irish Wolfhound and the French Poodle for example. Certainly there are many breeds of dogs that could be in contention for the coveted title of the All-American Dog. The Labrador retriever has been the most popular dog breed registered with the American Kennel Club for the last 12 years in a row. Surely the lab has a good argument. Maybe the biggest dogs, the Mastiffs, should be king. What about the smartest (that is a whole different can of worms)?

Perhaps only those dogs that originated in the United States should be considered. While that would make the list shorter it would still be a long list. Some sources list 46 different breeds to have originated in the U.S. while other sources, which include designer breeds and breeds still in development, would make that list much bigger.

After much consideration, I am casting my vote for the mutt. That's right, the All-American mongrel, the mixed breed beauty, good old "Heinz 57." Here is a dog with uncertain lineage that has become more popular than any other breed. For as long as there have been dogs in our country, there have been people mixing their lineage. Some on purpose in an effort to better an existing breed or create a new one, and some accidentally when Fido hopped the fence and met up with Princess.

Mutts can be smart as a whip or sharp as a marble; they can be cute as a button or ugly as a proboscis monkey with a rash; they can be small enough to carry in your hand or too large for your compact car. In America, diversity is an everyday occurrence. No where else in the world will you find the diversity that you do right here at home. Here in the land of the free and the home of the brave we have the freedom to choose from any breed of dog on the planet. So mongrel, step right up and claim your throne. My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, let freedom ring and hound dogs bark.

• Tug Gettling is director of the North Utah Valley Animal Services.

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