PET OWNERSHIP | ANECDOTE
The Doggy Dichotomy: A Tail of Polar Opposite Puppies.
Can you love two completely different things the same amount? Is it possible to love the dark just as much as the light? Or how about the city and the beach? Winter and summer?
As I have learned over the years, it is definitely possible, as I have always wondered how I could equally love the diverging qualities in my two dogs since they are about as different as night and day. It’s like the This or That game you play when you’re bored, except I could never come to a decision. I guess that topic has always been something that has fascinated me. I mean, I like winter just as much as I do summer, yet I often find myself longing for the other when I’m in a certain season. It’s a rather interesting contrast.
After much deliberation, I came to the distinct conclusion that I couldn’t possibly choose. But really, I found the opportunity of taking the time to observe my lovable pets more enjoyable than anything, and I was able to admire the differences in personality that made my dogs so endearing in polar opposite ways.
Appearance
Champ is a golden-haired Corgi, and he’s a pretty cute one at that. While he is on the pudgy side due to his blatant abhorrence of anything that has to do with physical activity, there’s a certain charm about his confused, sleepy-eyed demeanor that I can’t help but laugh at every time he refuses to budge from his doggy bed.
When I say that Latte is beautiful, I mean she is beautiful. She’s a cream-white Labradoodle who was just a slip of a puppy but who has grown up to be a long-limbed little firecracker. Looking exactly like her namesake, she also sports coffee-colored patches of fur.
Loyalty
Champ is a velcro dog, and his loyalty is absolute. I think that has to do with him being purposefully run over by his previous owner when he was younger, leaving him with lifelong trauma that we see even today. Sometimes I’ll move from one end of the room to the other, just to see if he would follow me. Spoiler alert: he always settles down right next to me.
Latte can be a bit of a turncoat. That’s not an exaggeration. We like to call her an opportunist because her loyalties can shift depending on who is willing to give her part of their dinner. And she’ll do anything to get it. You won’t believe the number of scratches I have on my arms from Latte’s claws digging into them as a result of her eagerness. The moment you give her what she wants, she’ll move onto the next person.
Intelligence
I hate to say it, but Champ isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed (bless his heart). Even after doggy training school, where he received a full-on diploma and graduation outfit, he still can’t follow instructions when we ask him to sit, stay, or stop barking. Although to be completely honest, I think he knows way more than he lets on, but purposefully plays dumb to get out of moving when we need him to.
On the other hand, Latte is arguably the smartest dog I have ever come across. It’s actually scary how intelligent she is. The first day we got her, we put her in one of those enclosed wire areas so both she and Champ could get adjusted, and this wire enclosure was located next to a small ledge separating two different rooms. She used her nose to scoot the wire enclosure to the very edge of the ledge and then get out through the small hole that was created. I don’t mean to brag, but she’s kind of the Einstein of dogs.
Temperament
The only moving around Champ does is to change his position in his doggy bed. He can act all innocent, but don’t be fooled because Champ has a dark side or as dark as a lethargic, stout Corgi can be. Once, my brother was walking Champ when my neighbor happily remarked, “Cute dog!” Champ turned to look at her, let out a threatening growl, and just kept walking. And I’m not even going to go as far as to mention how much he detests Latte’s company, playing perfectly into the irritable older sibling stereotype.
In contrast, Latte is incredibly energetic and for no real reason. She’s sweet, too. She has this habit of sidling up near Champ and nudging his snout with her nose because she wants to play, only for him to grouchily growl her away.
But as different as they are, I can’t imagine one of them without the other trailing along behind. My best memories are comprised of my parents pretending to be annoyed as they shoo Latte away from the dinner table because she keeps on scratching them or my brother sitting in front of Champ in hopes of persuading him to go to his room to sleep.
I still remember how Champ would try to run out of the house when the door was open, only for Latte to block his exit like the protector she is, silently telling him that the world out there was not for him. I even remember being 10 years old and wetting Champ’s nose with water from the sink because I read somewhere that a dog having a wet nose was an indication of health.
You can learn a lot from the people around you. I mean, how boring would it be if every single one of your friends and family had the same personality type and liked the exact same things? We would never grow as people. We become better versions of ourselves by learning, by observation, and by experience. My two dogs are different in almost every way imaginable, but they’re the same when it comes down to what truly matters: love and companionship.
When I think of one, I think of the other. They’re the yin to the other’s yang, the light to the dark, and the summer to the winter.
As I’m writing this, Latte is currently watching me from across the room with her sharp hazel eyes while Champ lazily snoozes in his doggy bed. And because of their unique characteristics, I dearly love them both.
