Meet Tashi

Photos from Tashi's 'gotcha' day above and below (Jack liked the little yippy white dog above--I was totally against the yipper).  Although we had gone to the market to get fish supplies and had not planned on a puppy, we fell in love (well, the kids and I did, but Jack wasn't initially convinced--he liked the little yappy mini breeds).  It all started when Jack promised Dahin he would get her a puppy if she made a 100 on her dictation test.  He never thought it would happen, but I was not thrilled with that kind of promise considering the fact Dahin could not keep a snail alive and we would end up being responsible for the puppy most of the time.  But, I also figured it would never happen, as well.  Well, it did.  I almost passed out when Jack called me to tell me.  I was in the middle of a haegeum lesson and Heejin  thought someone had died due to my reaction.  I told her about the situation and she said, "Ooh, Dahin will be so happy!"  Yeah, well.  I told Dahin that we should just do fish at first and that worked for a week.  When she and Jack went to the  open-air market located near Cheongyecheon (there you find everything from Halloween to Christmas stores, toy stores to pet stores) they checked out the pet area for fish supplies.  While there, they found two little puppies in a cage--one cute as can be and one not so much.  Dahin fell in love and Jack thought at least that one was just perfect (you know, the cute one).  A grandmother standing next to Dahin said, "Yeah, they're real good dogs--loyal, kind, and loving--and when they get big enough you can eat them." Dahin freaked out.  Jack and I both assured her that people do not eat their pets here, but Jack said that when the halmoni bought a hamster and was leaving the store he wanted to say, "Have a nice snack."  Well, Dahin was pretty upset about it and I could not get it out of my mind.  Technically, the little guys were muts, although people were calling them 'palbari' which is just a new pc term for 'dong kae' (shit dog).  It just makes having a mut sound nicer: 'palbari.'  Anyway, we ended up having to go back to the market on the weekend because we needed some more fish supplies and I meandered by the dog cage (actually, it was quite purposeful) to find the two cuties.  Well, when I got there, there was just one little brown puppy curled up in the cage alone.  Jack said, "Oh, it looks like his brother was sold.  That's a shame.  He was too cute."  I couldn't resist and asked the girl at the store if I could hold him and, well, it was all over from there.  He had these sad little eyes and his paws just hung on to me.  I knew I couldn't leave him there since I was pretty sure no one would buy him and he might end up going to some sort of dog broker (and their treatment of dogs is pretty infamous here.  We all know where those dogs end up.).  So, we paid our 30,000 won fee and took munchkin home without anything ready except a bag of food.  We started with the name Brownie, then Mocha, then Koko--but they didn't seem right.  The kids loved the name Koko, but Jack and I thought it sounded too girlie and too, you know, miniature doggish.  Because the people at the store said he was part Tibetan Spaniel (although, looking at him, I don't see it) I thought I'd look up some Tibetan names.  Jack had wanted to go with "Lucky," which I vetoed for the cheese factor, but I found "Tashi," which means 'lucky' in Tibetan.  It seems to fit him perfectly.  Over the next few days we ordered a crate, stainless steel bowls, leashes, toys, etc.  Now, we're online getting Science Diet and other imports for our new baby.  He is super smart.  Has accidents with the potty thing, but does not pee in his crate or in the car.  Jack has fallen in love with Tashi, too.  Koreans tend to like designer dogs, and I guess Americans do, too.  But, Tashi has proven to be so cool.  He hasn't barked except once.  He holds his pee and poo very well and has learned quickly to use the paper and go outside (although the vet has vetoed this--more on that later). Very patient little guy. Also, everyone is saying that mixed breeds tend to be more gentle and good with kids, with training, of course.  Jack is convinced now we made the right decision in choosing Tashi.  I agree 100%.  We're training him not to be so nippy, but I think he's getting it.  He's very active and loves to play fetch.

  We are very happy to have a new family member:  Welcome Tashi Sung!