All I know about his story is that a family adopted him from the same rescue previously, and then allowed their child to hit him with a baseball bat. Ham ended up biting the child's shirt (which I think is a reasonable response). They returned him to the shelter. Later, I signed up to foster him. My foster career was short (about 10 days!) - he was special, and I knew I had to keep him!
Together, we've since done a ton of counter-conditioning work with children and other situations in which I've learned he's reactive. I am happy to say that children can now, under supervision, approach and pet Ham safely- he's relaxed, and a perfect gentleman. (No child should ever be left unattended with a dog, though.)
He's full of personality, and has a lot of opinions about various things- namely, me paying attention to him. He makes an array of noises: moans, grumbles, huffs, and something we call the "mouth-clack," wherein he yawns and then clacks his jaws together with a snap when he is feeling perturbed/ bored/ jaunty.
hunting squirrels through the window
I do a bit of clicker training with him, and he is whip-smart, picking up behaviors and tricks very quickly. He loves food, naps, and hunting small woodland creatures. (He's caught bunnies, a squirrel, and a possum. 2/3 of those I was able to save.) He's also a connoisseur of weeds.
Unlike myself, Ham is pretty indifferent toward nail polish.