I've been a dog hater. After all, dogs are so needy. They make a lot of noise (and poop). Badly behaved ones bite, and pee on furniture, and everywhere, simply everywhere, is hair from the endless scratching even when they're dosed with rabidly-expensive flea sh*t.
I'm a former cat person, actually, but allergies killed my allegiance. Beginning with Nalu (pictured below) I slowly came to embrace dogs as a way of life and now they are somewhat in danger of taking over the house. We sometimes get to sit on the couch, for instance, and if the dogs have a sitter, we can take a trip. But only IF.
When I was devising a sidekick for my badass/vulnerable protagonist, Lei Texeira, I didn't have to look beyond the end of my own bed, where napped the Best Dog Ever.
Nalu is a Rottweiler in a ten pound body. Watch out, intruders!
Nalu, a chihua terrier mix, is the model for Lei's loyal and protective Rottweiler, Keiki. (Keiki means “child” and you don't have to look far for Freudian implications) Smart as a whip, ever vigilant, and possessed of an unshakeable Napoleon complex, Nalu is an ageless 12 year old.
But cuddly she's not. Needing something fuzzy and fussy to brush after my daughter left for college, I got this one:
I took about a hundred photos of Liko before I got one that showed even one of his eyes.
Liko, a registered Shih Tzu, is a dim bulb, but devoted. He dotes on me, following me even to the bathroom where he waits on tenterhooks, wondering if I will ever reappear (object permanence being a cognitive task beyond his mental capacity). His favorite spot is curled up beneath my chair while I write.
After a rough break-in period involving a year or so of peeing on the furniture and territorial guarding of my feet against the invasion of my husband, he's become our best-behaved dog. Hardly even barks. Only drawback is the expensive and inevitable grooming, which is why I originally bought him and which quickly lost its charm.
Then came true folly–The Little Guy, a.k.a. Pono.
His cuteness ensures his survival. That's all he's got going for him. Oh, and he's sweet, cuddly and loves people.
Pono is a truly useless dog. Can't walk properly, expensive, in ill health from neglect (we adopted him from the Humane Society) and yet… you should have seen us flipping out when he got out of the back yard and got lost for an evening. Me in tears, Mike driving frantically around with posters, whistling and calling, posting alerts to Facebook.
Turns out he'd just gimped into the next door neighbors' yard where the kids scooped him up for hours of washing, brushing and dressing in baby clothes. When the dad took him outside to pee at 10 p.m, he dragged his hindquarters up the street and straight to our front door.
Guess he was over the kid thing, too.
He can't climb the back steps so I carry him in the laundry basket.
Dogs, you either love 'em or hate 'em. What's your favorite pet?
Those are some adorable dogs. And it’s true, if my dog didn’t have her cute factor working for her, some days she might find herself… Okay, that’s not true. I lover her to death. She’s a little black and white Boston Terrier and spoiled as can be.
Oh Boston Terriers are adorable! Post pictures!!! *jumps up and down*
I’ve always been a cat person. This is because when my sister was in college she had a cat and it was the first “real” pet anyone in our family ever had (besides goldfish and they didn’t do much). I also had a bad experience with my neighbor’s dog who chased me around my house as a kid while jumping/scratching me and I couldn’t get away. So I think sometimes if people are dog or cat people it stems from their personal experiences. But to your point you can always change!
THanks for popping in, allergies were what forced me to change!
I’m an absolute cat person. Funny coincidence: today’s post on my blog is about our cats. =)
I like most animals but I’m not overly fond of dogs because they are needy, like you said. They’re not a good match for a chaotic lifestyle, I think.
(Though I have to admit: yours look cute!) 🙂
So enjoyed your post!
Dogs–I’m a fool for them. We have two–a Cavalier King Charles spaniel who believes she’s an empress dowager now that she’s getting on in years. Ha ha. Pretends to be deaf, unless the word num-nums is whispered. And the young Jack Russell terrier who is the sweetest, most devoted, most energetic little numpty on four-legs–who is currently sitting to attention by the back windows, her tail stiff as a poker–and if there were a speech bubble over her head it would say, “But I *need* to bite that pigeon in the garden, really I do…”
I love other people’s dogs. There are several I have counted as “dog friends”. But to have one? Messy, hairy, but most importantly (to me) is that you have think about them if you go away for even a few hours. And overnight? Impossible without a sitter. With cats, they don’t want to ride in the car, and they don’t really seem to miss us if we go away. I may be wrong about that last comment, as ours gives us the cold shoulder if we’ve been gone. Punishing us for abandonment?
I could hear about your dogs all day long. I just adore them, and enjoy dog sitting. Taught them a few tricks too… Love your tongue in cheek humor…. love you!