Kira’s Story - Pembroke Welsh Corgi 1
Originally published at K.T. Hanna - The Scribble Muse. You can comment here or there.
In case it’s not immediately obvious to those who follow me on twitter or facebook. I’m a Corgi addict. I have two of them.
However, I didn’t always want a Corgi.
After almost two years of flying back and forth between the USA and Australia, I finally got my fiancé visa and headed over to marry my awesome husband in March of 2007. If you’re not sure what a fiancé visa is - it’s a visa which permits you to enter the country on the condition you marry your intended spouse within 90 days.
I’m very lucky to have a mother in law who planned everything for me. My day was beautiful, but as usual, I digress.
A few days after I arrived, my husband mentioned getting a dog. He’d even built a fence around the yard before I arrived. Now, I love dogs. Seriously love dogs (and cats. I’m not an either or person. I love both. I love any type of dog and cat, but am picky about what I own).
We encountered a problem. When he asked me what dog I wanted, my immediate response was: “Alaskan Malamute, or Alsatian.”
My husband blinked at me. “I don’t want a big dog. I want a miniature Dachshund.”
“I’m not getting a yappy dog!” Yes, I do believe I may have stamped my foot for emphasis.
So there was our dilema. Hubs wanted a small dog and I (knew I’d be the one potty training it), wanted a big dog.
On the Sunday, ten days after I arrived in the USA, we went to the pet store. There were heaps of dogs to look at. So many cute puppies. But they all yapped. And as noted above, I am not a yappy dog fan, at least not to own.
Then we saw this:
I mean, how do you resist THAT? LOOK AT THAT FACE?
We left the pet store and went home. All we could talk about was how she was so tired she flopped when we took her out, and how for three minutes she suddenly got this amazing burst of energy and unsteadily romped around with her tiny feet.
Even at that size - she didn’t yip. Her little bark was adorable.
We went back on the Monday after researching the breed (we’re like that) and SOMEONE ELSE WAS LOOKING AT HER. I had a panic attack, walked up to one of the girls in the store and said: “We want that dog.”
Two minutes later I held my little Kira (it actually took us 8 days to name her. Until then she was puppy).
Don’t get me wrong, there are times she’s been the bringer of much heartache. The time she ate my shoes. That other time we figured out she has a bad tummy and can only eat the food for sensitive stomachs.
Then there was the time the stupid vet gave her the wrong meds and we had to rush her back to their office because her entire head and body swelled up and she couldn’t breathe. We listened to them laughing in the office when we took her in, and heard the laughter echoing from the back when they were fixing it. Fixing the mistake that wouldn’t have happened if they’d observed her when they gave her the meds like they should have. Needless to say - we changed vets.
Now I have a corgi, I never want to go back. She’s half human and insanely intelligent (sometimes I think too intelligent for her own good). When you’re sad she’s there to comfort you, and after a long day at work she welcomes us home. There is nothing about this breed I do not love.
Kira and her baby brother Kuma
This is the story of how we got Kira. I’ll leave Kuma’s story for another day.
I’m a writer, and I love writing, but there are other sides to me. This is one of them. My dogs inspire me in different ways.
What other sides do you have? What do you do when you’re not obsessed by writing? What other obsessions/hobbies do you have?