Like father, like Shih- Tzu

It amazes me to look at our two dogs, and to find just how different they are from one another. Not too long ago it occurred to me that both their personalities are a lot like Manolo and I. Although both of them are somewhat equally attached to the both of us, it is certainly clear that Kitry is closer to Manolo, while Fiby is very much my little monster. And so it is interesting to see how many similarities there are between us and our "assigned" babies.
Kitry has this "thing" about her... this aura, I wanna say. She will not beg for attention; she knows that she will get it simply by being in a room. And if she doesn't, then it is obviously not worth it anyway. She is cautious and elegant in everything she does, and if you upset her, she simply turns around and ignores you until she decides it is time to move on. She likes being part of the group, but wants her space. She hates being crowded, and SHE says when, where and for how long she "accepts" your attention. She doesn't walk through puddles on the street, and when her leash gets caught under her front leg, she stops and lifts her paw for us to fix it. Quite impressive, and oh so much like her daddy.

Fiby is all me. She is clumsy, she doesn't take "no" for an answer... she runs into things while running one way and looking in a different direction. She has no concept of when it is time to relax, she can't sit still for a moment, and is quite exhausting to entertain. She throws herself into everything she does without caution or fear, and is not to be calmed down. She is hard to train, but thinks that with one cute look or kiss she can make it all good. HMMM. I guess I am not giving myself a great review here!?

When it comes to work, I am very focused and work oriented. But at home, I can be rather distracted and a little all over the place. As an example I think I want to write about one of our friend's favorite "Bernd- Stories".
When we first moved to Trenton and finally got a car, the thought of taking care of a vehicle was quite overwhelming. My dad is a car mechanic, and my whole life I knew that "dad is the one taking care of anything that has to do with the car". I never went to have a car fixed, I never did an oil change... I rarely even got my own gas. So - faced with the new challenge, Manolo and I took our Hyundai to get an oil change, and to the inspection station withing the first few weeks of ownership. A few months went by... we started getting used to having a car, and all was well.
One fine day Manolo told me that we needed to get the oil changed again, and asked me if I would mind doing that, while he stayed home cleaning the house. I didn't like the thought - remembering how long it took us the last time, but hey... it needed to get done. I got to the place, and as expected, the line was looooong. I lit one cigarette after another, listened to my "car- cd", and watched the minutes creep by. Finally; about an hour later it was my turn to get to the front of the line. I rolled down my window, and told the guy that I needed my oil changed. He looked at me... looked at some sticker on my wind shield, and said: "Not here you're not getting no oil change". I pulled up one eyebrow (my right one... the other one doesn't lift individually), and he answered my approaching attitude by saying: "This is the DMV inspection station!"
I felt like a complete moron. And of course... once you are by the entrance to the inspection hall, you can't just turn around and get out. Traffic had to be redirected, everybody was involved in my ordeal, and DMV- workers' faces lit up as the story of the idiot wanting an oil change made its round. It was humiliating, to say the least.

I am sure if Fiby had a car, she would have done something equally dumb, and it is great for me to have her to relate to. We have compassion for one another; if she bangs into a wall, I pick her up and say: "I know..." (because I KNOW), while Manolo and Kitry just sit there, shaking their heads in disbelief.

Manolo is a great guy; I don't think I mention him enough. He has this way of talking to people and of getting his point across that not many people could get away with. He is not unfriendly or impolite... but direct and witty and quick, which some people don't quite know how to handle.
A while ago, Kitry had a surgery. We dropped her at the hospital, and knew that we could pick her up later that afternoon. While being worried parents, we spent the day buying her things (naturally). Among those things was a stroller. She likes her fresh air, but we knew that she would have to stay off her feet for a while after the procedure. We got her back that night, and a few days later decided to go for a beer at the pub down the street. Now... as much as I talk about this neighborhood, you can imagine that this is not the place where two gay guys might want to walk around with a little dog in a stroller, let alone enter the neighborhood hang- out, but we did it anyway. We got to the pub/ bar, and sure enough... several slightly obscure looking guys were sitting at the counter, turning their heads as we pranced into the establishment. When we walked past one particularly big and unfriendly looking fellow, we heard him say: "Damn... now I've seen it all". Without missing a beat, Manolo looked him straight in the eyes and replied in a rather lecturing tone: "You really need to get out more often".
At first I though we are gonna get beat up in there... but the truth is that his response changed the entire place around within a minute. His drawing the line in such a smart way set the tone for respect and acceptance. Straight "dudes" ended up buying us beers, girls went out to smoke with us and we were THE in- crowd... stroller and all.
And again... if Kitry could talk, I am sure she would have said the exact same thing.
And here is Fiby now... laying next to my feet on the floor, sleeping. NOW she is sleeping! At seven in the morning she wakes us up, wanting to play. And as soon as we are downstairs she cuddles up in a corner and goes back to sleep. I sometimes wonder if those two dogs were amazingly great people in a former life, who now came back as those cute little things who just live to be pampered, loved and adored. I guess we'll never know.