I have had this blog for nearly three years now and never have I dedicated a post to my favourite pet in the world!! :o
Weeeell, I do have one post from 2012 where I wrote about my (late) brown-eyed German stud. I miss him so much. Here's a link to that story http://miapensamientos.blogspot.com/2012/01/teaching-old-dogs-new-tricks.html?spref=fb
Anywhooo...
In between the time I took to write this post, I came across an article in The Nairobian (yes, I read it). The article was about annoying habits Kenyans have online and one of them was that they post about their pets. The writer of that article was under the heavy opinion that all Kenyans who posted about their pets were being fake. He or she believes that Kenyans don't keep pets. Domestic livestock doesn't count. :P
I am Kenyan. Pure-bred, born and raised in this beautiful country of ours. There are pure-bred Kenyans like myself who have dogs or other pets that become a part of the family. My own grandfather always had dogs! Nobody in the village would dare step into his compound after the dogs were unleashed. Those things looked like wolves! They may have had husky blood, now that I think about it.
 |
| This is a husky.. Guka's dogs looked something like this. |
Snoopy may have not been the bravest dog (kinda reminds me of Courage the Cowardly Dog actually) but her loyalty was the kind people die for. She was afraid of loud sounds and of being away from us for too long. Yet whenever any of my family members would walk to the bus stop, a half-hour walk away, Snoopy would escort us there, against our orders. She would trot behind us, stop and cower when we'd yell, "Go back! Home!" Sometimes she would even turn as though she was going back home. However, the moment we would face forward, she'd follow us again. Once we would get on the matatu, Snoopy would immediately turn around and run home.
At first I was worried she would get hit by a car or something on her way back home without us, but everytime I would come back home, she'd be there waiting. She helped me learn that dogs are not so scary once you get to know them. She got sick and passed away after my family moved house and couldn't keep her anymore. I still think she died of a broken heart.
My next dogs came in twos. We inherited Stella and Neo from my father's colleague. Now those were some HUGE dogs. It was not cowardly to be afraid of them at first sight; it was smart. At the time, my father drove a Toyota Prado. Stella and Neo's idea of welcoming you home was jumping up on their hind legs and looking into the Prado. Yes, that's how tall they were. They could actually look into the car when they stood. And I never really found out what breed they were, but they were definitely pure-bred of whatever that was.
Stella's coat was patterned black and white, sort of like the cows we used to look at in picture books as toddlers. Her son, Neo, was a beautiful jet-black dog. Those two were a formidable force to reckon with. They taught me the practicality of "not knowing your own strength".
Neo was lovable and playful; when he would see us skipping rope, he would come and jump over too. It was fun at first, until he would make it impossible for us to play at all! Stella was older, so she was more laid-back in her affection-showing behaviour. Towards the end of our time together, she got some kind of bone cancer. She was in so much pain that eventually the vet advised we put her down. Neo took a long time to get over her death. When she didn't come back from the vet, he sniffed the whole car and compound looking for her. He spent most of the following nights whining quietly to himself. And much later when he seemed to have forgotten her, if someone mentioned her name, he would look up thinking she was around. As a thirteen year-old that was painful to watch. It taught me that animals process death pretty much the same way we try to as humans.
We moved house again and left Neo with our neighbour. Again, I was left feeling awful for leaving behind our dog, but I was just a child, I had no say in the matter.
Then came my German-stud, Leo. I got to experience a bit of his puppyhood; missed the rest 'cause of boarding school. My family gave him the name Leo because when he was a puppy, his paws grew faster than the rest of him. Mum said he looked like a lion. So he became Leo the lion :)
 |
| German Shepherd puppy |
 |
| He looked something like this :D But he had a beauty spot on his face |
Leo loved baths. He loved water. His favourite thing to do was pick up the hedgehogs that roamed around in our compound and carry them around in his mouth. I think he did it 'cause they reminded him of his ball. Leo never learnt how to fetch, despite his 'obedience training'. The ball game was always violent: throw the ball, Leo runs to get it then he runs around you while you try and snatch it from his mouth. And he would not make it easy for you to do that.
 |
| Perfectly describes how Leo behaved! LOL! |
I called him my German stud because he was a pure-bred German shepherd and he had the most beautiful, intelligent brown eyes, not to mention a ridiculously wide smile when he opened his mouth.
 |
| Isn't that eye good to look at? |
 |
| This was Tiny :) |
Currently, I live in apartments that do not allow pets. When I move out, I'll probably end up in another apartment that does not allow pets. I'm not letting go of my dreams though. When I get the space and resources, I plan on having a Labrador and a German Shepherd. I want my children to learn how to live with animals; to be appreciative of the rest of nature. Thankfully, the man I am looking forward to marrying shares my dream. ;)
Here's to having pets, learning how to live with animals and appreciating nature.
 |
| Labrador Retrievers in their natural colours |
*All photos are courtesy of Google Images except that of Tiny.
