all about dogs

I never liked dogs. Or any animal at all. I find them dirty, stinky and savage. I never imagined taking care of any member of the animal kingdom. Our houses are meant for humans to inhabit. Therefore, animals are uninvited. Uncivilized. Fierce. Unruly. That is how I perceive animals. That was until we welcomed Claudia into our home.

Born January 13 of this year from a black dam and a chocolate sire, Claudia of Christopher Anne is our 3 month old black Labrador Retriever. She is a combination of charm, wit and misbehavior. At her age, she weighs a whopping 10 kilos and stands at 17 inches! Her daily routine consists of eating, walking, playing, sleeping, running and learning. Most of the time though, her play button blinks!


You are probably asking yourself why I suddenly had a change of heart. I have always envied K9 units in the malls with their bomb sniffing Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds in tow. Often, I end up thinking, can dogs really be trained to obey and protect their masters? As I did my research and familiarized myself with my brother-in-law's Labradors and Belgian Malinois, these large breed dogs took my heart! Like excited parents, Gino and I began making a checklist of things to purchase as we awaited the arrival of our first ever pet, Claudia.

Sure. Having Claudia in our home has changed our routine and financial obligations (friends tell me having her prepares us for future parenthood). She is an attention-seeker and a people pleaser. It means a lot if you play with her and praise her for every correct behavior she has shown. She is an eating machine --- devouring 18 kilos of Eukanuba monthly, wolfing hard-boiled eggs for her in-between meals daily and delighting on her dog treats after every training lessons. Not to mention the costly monthly veterinary home visits her doctor does.

Do the math if you will, but thank you, we don't want to know the sum you'll get. What matters is at the end of the day, we have Claudia running to us, graciously retrieving the tennis ball we threw. As she gets her dog treat and a well deserved praise, she affectionately lies her massive 10 kilo body on my feet and stares back as if saying "Don't you just love how smart I am!"

View Claudia's other photos HERE.