A canine survivor

My uncle Ishmael and his family lived right on Arkansas Highway 10 - I mean right on it. The highway began where the yard left off. They went through a long list of dogs during their stay there. The fatality rate was high. Except for one. Penny was a survivor. They called her a mole dog. I don't know if that was because of her activities or if that was supposed to be a specific breed. Whatever the case, she knew how to look both ways before she got out on the highway, and lived to a ripe old age.