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Juju
I really appreciate having my dog, Juju.
She can be a handful, she may wee on the carpet occasionally,
and go through the kitchen bin whenever I leave her, and bark
at strangers, and chase joggers, and roll in fox poo, but
I love her all the same.
I always look forward to taking her for
a walk at dinner time as it gives me space to be by myself
to think about things. It's a time when I totally relax and
get some of my best ideas.
I chose the name Juju after reading 'The
Palm-wine Drinkard' by Amos Tutuola in which he mentions
his 'juju', which means a supernatural charm. I thought the
name suited a black dog as the word has connotations with
black magic.
Juju was rescued and hadn't been socialised
before me and my ex-partner took her on. She consequently
had a lot of problems including seperation anxiety, being
terrified of traffic, strangers, skate-boards, children, bicycles,
sharp noises and had not been house-trained. After months
of hard work we got used to each other and she calmed down
to become the gentle, playful, slightly nervous dog that she
is today, lying at my feet as I write this.
Footnote: Taking
on rescued dogs is rewarding but hard work and a huge commitment.
I don't want to sound preachy, but please don't buy dogs that
have been bred. It's vain to buy a dog because of its looks
or its social status or monetary value and there are hundreds
of animals in rescue centres who need good homes. Thanks.
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