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Kindy - a very small dog with a very large love for every other animal.
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DOG owners will naturally claim their dog has tons of personality - a trait that means he or she has many very individual habits or behaviours that are not typical of dogs and are not necessarily found in any other dog.
But people not familiar with dogs or anyone who has not owned a dog can be heard to claim that "of course dogs don't have personality because they simply respond to the environment without conscious thought". Who is right?
Of course as a dog owner I am in the first group and I know that most people in that group will have stories to tell that have left them in no doubt at all that their dog has an amazing personality. I have had a few dogs during my life so far, and each one has been even more individual than the last (probably because I learned more from each one).
My first little dog was a delight. A pedigree long coat chihuahua, he was the last little fellow to be sold from the litter and came from a farm. He was not a good eater and was hand fed with all sorts of delicacies to try and tempt his tiny appetite. And he did grow into a lovely adult dog with an amazing feeling for all things live. Except human males!
When a male stranger entered the house he would be lulled into a false sense of security by little Kindy's inaction. But when he went to leave he would suddenly have a chihuahua attached to his trouser leg as he went out the door. I always suspected that farmhands had been nasty to him on the farm where he was born.
The first time he went missing I was frantic. I had family members hunting around the roads and calling to him and eventually after an hour or more without results a neighbour poked his head over the fence and asked "are you looking for your wee dog?". After my relieved "yes", the neighbour pointed him out in the yard - sitting beside the rabbit hutch 'talking' to the rabbits inside. That was my first indication that there may be something different about this little guy.
After that he occasionally took himself out of the fence and off to investigate things but after that I had a clue as to where he would be. A few times he was in the paddock below our house, 'talking' to a sheep, or to the children's pony, or once he was next-door 'talking' to the border collie. But his greatest act of love was when my son brought home some baby rabbits - he had been out shooting and had shot the mother without realising there were babies around. So he brought the young ones home and immediately Kindy adopted them and assigned himself as their protector. He would lick them and keep them together and if my son's hunting ridgeback dared poke its head in the door she was instantly attacked by little Kindy - and she backed off every time!
When he was about three years old I bought him a little girl companion (another pedigree chihuahua of course) and for her he made the ultimate sacrifice - he loved her from the moment he saw her and when on that first day she wanted to be on my knee, he looked at her, got up and sat down beside me, relinquishing his treasured position to her permanently.
He never allowed anyone else that kind of privilege. When I was carrying him or hugging him nobody else was allowed to pat him as well - if they tried, they were awarded the warning nip!
They never had a family - the vet said they were too close and too caring of each other for that - but in the years that followed I never ceased to marvel at how the little flirt, Jojo, would get Kindy into trouble by stirring him up to do her bidding, and then she would come and tell me that he was doing something naughty (like barking at a neighbour, chewing up something out of my washing basket or stealing the pegs and spreading them around the lawn).
Later I decided to go overseas (I could not take them as I had no accommodation arranged and no definite job to go to) and because they were so much a part of my life I advertised for a new home for them and they were adopted by a lovely couple who already had a chihuahua and other farmyard animals. Both dogs visited at first, and then stayed overnight and finally stayed permanently as they both seemed totally at home in the new environment. And Kindy was instantly friendly with the man of the family - so unusual for him that I knew that was the right home for them.
Later I learned that little Kindy loved to go fishing with the husband on the boat - he would stand at the bow, wind blowing his fur, and loved every moment of it. He was part of the hunt now and felt a huge pride on these trips - and it showed. But he did not eat fish himself - he was a steak man. But Jojo loved fish, so on every trip Kindy would make sure there was something in the bucket to take home to Jojo, who hated boats and water, and always stayed home with her new 'mum'. But she always inspected the bucket when the boys arrived home and she knew there would be some fishy delicacy in it for her.
Both of these little dogs have passed on years ago now, but they have left a lasting impression on both myself and later their adoptive family. I will always be grateful that they both made me realise just what a huge helping of personality they had - personality and feelings and ability to work things out for themselves.
Anyone who thinks the canine species is 'just dogs' has not taken any time to observe or interact with any dog at all, and all I can feel for such people is pity. They have missed one of the greatest pleasures of any lifetime. - EP
