Quote Originally Posted by wolf_Q View Post
He is supposed to be a purebred australian shepherd, they may have even called him a mini aussie. The last people who had him were getting rid of him because they got him for a herding dog and he has no herding instincts. I don't know if it's an accepted color but I've seen a couple of aussies that were just black and tan. That coloring can occur in a wide variety of breeds.
Coloring yes, but Aussies don't normally have the long hair you describe, but often have no tail or a bob tail naturally, although there are a few with full length tails. It just doesn't have the face or build, either! A cute dod whatever he is!