Nadi is my Shih-Tzu mixed with something else dog friend. She has been the only form of stability that I have had in my life for the 11 (soon 12) years of her life. We have traveled and lived in 4 different cities in two different countries in that time and she has been right by my side through it all. Has it been an adventure? Well, not really - we don't do a whole lot of adventures together because neither here nor Thailand is very conducive to even taking your dog outside of the house without there being many dangers for her health and well-being. That's ok though, because she is quite happy to remain at home provided I am there with her.
Nadi is really attached to me and I can understand why. I talk about her being my only stability over the years but it is even more profound in reverse. She has never known anyone other than me to be in her life for a long period of time and doesn't know how to act if we are apart. Here she is in the gym with me, which I have been trying to do a lot more of as of late. If I don't take her with me up there, she will sit looking at the door of the apartment for the 40 minutes to an hour that I am gone. The other residents don't seem to mind and she doesn't do anything but sit on the floor.
She does enjoy sitting in this sunny place right next to the windows though. I sometimes wonder if dogs have any real concept of height. Does she know that on the other side of that glass is certain death for dogs? While she might not have any real concept of the dangers she potentially faces each day, there is one thing that she is really afraid of: Thunder and lightning.
When we do have a thunderstorm and I am not home at the time, she kind of goes into a bit of a fit trying to find a safe space. This little area in my bathroom next to the bathtub is where I will find her on days that I am out when the storm hits. If I am home she tries to sit on me, and tries to get to an elevated position as close to my head as possible. I often wonder why it is that these places seems safe to her. Is my head something that she feels is somewhere that is safer than other places? Why the bathroom? Perhaps because if she can't see the flash before the noise she maybe feels as though it will stop happening? Dogs are wonderful creatures aren't they?
Sometimes Nadi will get an itch in her ear and she does what I like to call "breakdancing" to make it go away. If I am there when one of these fits strikes I will scratch the inside of her ears for her and she really enjoys that!
Even though I know it is too hot for her, she LOVES going up to the roof where the pool is with me. The sun quickly starts to overheat her so she seeks comfort behind the plants and under the chairs. It always amazes me because she is really excited to go to the pool, gets really excited about it actually. Then, when it is time to go she is just as excited about returning to our condo.
There are a few restaurants in my neighborhood where they do not mind if you bring your dog in with you. She calmly sits in her chair with a fan pointing at both of us until I offer her a tiny piece of beef or something like that. Normally I don't give her people food but when she does get it, she attacks it. She knows the difference between grabbing food and hurting me with her teeth and thankfully, she is very gentle in the way she grabs it.
At the end of the day my dog friend wants one thing more than anything else.. Ok, lets be honest, she wants snacks the most but I think her favorite thing is just to be around me, and well, that feels really nice. I know the clock is ticking on her as she will this year be the age that is the average lifespan of her species at 12 years. The good news is that she shows no signs of ill health and the vets tell me that her blood and overall health is pretty good. There are times when I get really worried about what my life will be like once she is gone and I am not looking forward to that day.
Do you have a dog friend? If so, I would like to see a picture or two of them!