Thursday, May 30, 2013

It's a Dog's World!

Niko, the Wonder Dog
Doesn't this face discourage you from robbing my house or messing with my daughters?  Doesn't he make you tremble in your boots and think twice about whatever diabolical plan you were hatching against my family?  Yeah, I thought so!

This little guy is Niko (named for a local soft drink), and we got him about 3 years ago to be the family guard dog.  He was immediately ruined, being carried around like a baby and dressed up in cutesy clothes, sleeping on a little cushion and sneaking treats.  I feared he'd never step into his role because we'd made him too soft.

One would think that a grown dog would be humiliated by 
being carried around like a baby, but not this one!


He got a bit of age on him, though, and a funny thing happened.  He'd been treated like a member of the family and found his place in our clan, and he fell as much in love with us as we had with him.

Out of this grew a fierce protective spirit, and I dare say that now, no one would dream of passing this fella to mess with any of us.  He's quite docile with children and loves to lie on his back so young kids can torture cuddle him, but let a strange adult or another dog come around our fence, and it's another story!

We've tried several different pets here in Paraguay, including a beautiful parrot that died from the cold, a cute turtle that hobbled away and never came back, and various stray cats that I didn't approve of but didn't chase away because they were eating snakes and rats.  In the states we'd had a dog and a couple of chickens once, but somehow these animals here become part of the family more quickly and we find ourselves really attached to them.  And the fact that this big baby has a bit of an intimidation factor is just an added bonus.  :) 

I'm the practical one in our crowd, so sometimes I focus on Niko as more of a hassle--who will feed him when we're traveling?  What will we do with him on furlough?  Our older daughter is allergic to him and can't somebody bathe him again so he's less likely to set off a reaction?  What about the costs of his vaccinations and all that food?  And on and on.  But I can't deny his benefit to us, or how good it makes me feel to open the gate and his tail is wagging as he trots up to meet me with nuzzles.  (He knows better than to wrestle with me like he does the kids.) 

I've never really been an animal person--all that hair and barking and poop.  But in the months after the accident when I was pretty much confined to the bed or the wheelchair, he'd come up and sniff the area my bone was broken, lay his head just beside it, and rest there a while.  If everyone left the house, he stayed right by my feet and followed me closely in those months of learning to walk again.  I'm not sure that he didn't cause more damage than good, as much as I had to be careful not to stumble over him, but somehow it was the thought that counted.  So I've learned to love him, too.

My husband says that having the dog takes a measure of stress off him as the man in charge of keeping us gals as safe as possible.  For our daughters, Niko's the constant that's been with us through 3 moves in the last 4 years--an added comfort when so many other things change.  
Do you have pets?  What do they add to your family?   If you don't have an animal friend, what keeps you from getting one?

8 comments:

  1. When we moved to El Salvador three and a half years ago, we brought our loyal yellow labs with us. They were a constant as our kids made the transition from life in the U.S. to life in El Salvador. They also made me feel safe. Sadly, the younger of the two died in October 2011 due to acute kidney failure, and the older dog (who my husband had before he met me) died of old age in November. Our whole family took both of the losses very hard, but we are forever grateful to the dogs who helped the whole transition to life here go a little more smoothly. We are headed to the States for furlough this summer, but maybe we'll get another doggy friend when we return!

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    1. That's so sad! We had to leave behind a boxer who could have been Niko's twin, and it was very hard on the girls. That was part of my reasoning behind getting them a puppy here. I hope you find the perfect doggy friend after your furlough. :) Thanks for commenting.

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  2. Our family bought a Husky puppy almost 3 months ago - our first dog ever in 15 years of marriage. A big step for us, due to the amount of travel we do and my hubby is not AT ALL a pet person. But our boys had BEGGED us for a dog for years, and we finally broke down. I didn't know the joy that would come with watching our boys take care of her, bathe her, and run around like crazy with her. And I'm happy to say that they have continued to take full responsibility, even though I thought the excitement would wear off after a few weeks. Because in Honduras we often feel shut-in behind our 15-foot walls, it has been great to have a built-in friend for the boys - and for us. :) I actually think the puppy adores my hubby the most, and he was the one who was most opposed to her!

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    1. I'm glad your boys have their built-in friend! It is such a precious thing to watch kids take care of animals, isn't it? Like a glimpse into their future adult lives or something. Sometimes I look in the yard and my younger daughter is napping on the grass (she's 14) and the dog is sprawled out beside her, or she's posing him for photos while he endures it. So much entertainment!

      You know, I'm the least receptive to our dog, too, and I'm just sure he loves me more than the others. Like he's earning my approval. How do they sense these things?!?! ;)

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  3. We have a cat that we did not want and cannot get rid of. He is a headache! Then we have a great little miniature hamster. We all love him. And recently my son saved for a rat and bought it with his own money. I was not too excited about that at first, but I have warmed to her. Little pets are perfect for us, because it is easy to hand them off to someone when we travel (not so simple with that awful cat). I have really enjoyed seeing my children learn to be responsible and caring with our pets.

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    1. Our very first pet was a fish, which I found perfect. My younger daughter is a snuggler, though, so that fish didn't do the trick for her. It seems we have a hard time keeping the smaller ones alive, too, for some reason. It's so sad when a pet dies. You're a brave gal and a great mommy for letting your son buy that rat. One more reason I'm glad I don't have boys! ;)

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  4. my husband collects animals right and left - and one of the hard things about leaving for good or for a season is finding homes and someone to love on those animals after you leave. we've had a horse, a desert tortoise, chameleons, hedgehogs, owls, falcons, song birds, african grey parrot, goats, chickens, pigeons, dogs, cats... in theory, some animals weren't necessarily supposed to be pets, but with girls... they boycotted dinner the first time we ate one of the chickens.

    i'm finding i tolerate the animals much better now that i don't have babes in arms - i'm partial to birds (loved the african grey and the owls and the senegal fire finches), cats and dogs. they are wonderful for our children, teaching them about love, life, loss, procreation, responsibility, etc.

    by the way, we are still searching for homes for our three cats... we'd love prayers b/c we have just over a week remaining.

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    1. Finding pet-sitters or new owners is not a fun task. :( We'll be praying for those cats. Surely your family would win some award for that list of pets you've had! PHWEW!

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