Chucha
With M moving in, I should also mention the other new official resident of my house. Chucha (full name Chucha Marie) is a 13-year-old Guatemalan street dog that M adopted as a puppy when she was in the Peace Corps and then flew back to America.
As befitting a street dog, she doesn't quite look like any other breed you've heard of. She's short and low to the ground like a Corgi, but has an enormous fluffy tail like a German Shepherd. Her light brown coat is also very fluffy and soft. Her head doesn't look like any other breed that comes to mind, and like Tulip is very white around the muzzle. She weighs in at about 30 pounds.
As also befits a street dog, Chucha has some food issues. She likes to guard her food for hours and bark at people who go near it. As a result, her food is upstairs in a separate room from Tulip's bowl in the kitchen, and if we leave and she hasn't finished her food we pick it up and put it on the counter to avoid any problems. Tulip always seems somewhat bemused by Chucha's attitude toward food, but we haven't had any serious problems beyond a very occasional warning nip. Chucha is also very insistent about getting treats when we arrive home, which Tulip is completely on board with.
Chucha has had some back issues her entire life, probably resulting from whatever combination of breeds she is not giving her the back she needs for the long low body. As such she has occasionally had to go on steroids for back pain, which in the worst cases translates to her back legs and gives her a lot of trouble walking. Unsurprisingly, at 13 this happens more often. She now has occasional trouble jumping on the bed, even though the box spring is intentionally not on a frame to make it easier for her. Even just putting the comforter all the way to the edge of the bed can deter her. Once she is on the bed she prefers to snuggle up against my leg.
She's more cuddly than Tulip is nowadays, but she's also more likely to bark at people and harass them inside the house. On walks, she happily barks at other dogs but lacks Tulip's prey drive or antipathy to skateboards. She also is a lot more stubborn. If it's miserable out or if she's not feeling it she'll sit down and simply refuse to move in a way that Tulip has never done.
Chucha also played a minor role in M and I getting together, as M's dating profile said she had a street dog "who had bribed back to America with the promise that the streets were paved with Snausage," and I figured anyone who liked a dog that much couldn't be all bad. Good call on my part.
EDIT: Almost forgot - in most of Central America, Chucha is an insulting term for a woman, along the lines of bitch. In Guatemala, it lacks that connotation and just means "dog".
As befitting a street dog, she doesn't quite look like any other breed you've heard of. She's short and low to the ground like a Corgi, but has an enormous fluffy tail like a German Shepherd. Her light brown coat is also very fluffy and soft. Her head doesn't look like any other breed that comes to mind, and like Tulip is very white around the muzzle. She weighs in at about 30 pounds.
As also befits a street dog, Chucha has some food issues. She likes to guard her food for hours and bark at people who go near it. As a result, her food is upstairs in a separate room from Tulip's bowl in the kitchen, and if we leave and she hasn't finished her food we pick it up and put it on the counter to avoid any problems. Tulip always seems somewhat bemused by Chucha's attitude toward food, but we haven't had any serious problems beyond a very occasional warning nip. Chucha is also very insistent about getting treats when we arrive home, which Tulip is completely on board with.
Chucha has had some back issues her entire life, probably resulting from whatever combination of breeds she is not giving her the back she needs for the long low body. As such she has occasionally had to go on steroids for back pain, which in the worst cases translates to her back legs and gives her a lot of trouble walking. Unsurprisingly, at 13 this happens more often. She now has occasional trouble jumping on the bed, even though the box spring is intentionally not on a frame to make it easier for her. Even just putting the comforter all the way to the edge of the bed can deter her. Once she is on the bed she prefers to snuggle up against my leg.
She's more cuddly than Tulip is nowadays, but she's also more likely to bark at people and harass them inside the house. On walks, she happily barks at other dogs but lacks Tulip's prey drive or antipathy to skateboards. She also is a lot more stubborn. If it's miserable out or if she's not feeling it she'll sit down and simply refuse to move in a way that Tulip has never done.
Chucha also played a minor role in M and I getting together, as M's dating profile said she had a street dog "who had bribed back to America with the promise that the streets were paved with Snausage," and I figured anyone who liked a dog that much couldn't be all bad. Good call on my part.
EDIT: Almost forgot - in most of Central America, Chucha is an insulting term for a woman, along the lines of bitch. In Guatemala, it lacks that connotation and just means "dog".