I was clouded in mind and fuzzy with sleep as I rose one bone chillingly cold morning, around 8 AM I remember - in late February. Katalin was struggling abit with her potty training and really needed to GO first thing in the morning. I had taken her out at 1 the night before and she was fine for the rest of the time she slept; I'm a rather late riser if I haven't got work/school - her bladder wouldn't wait for me to get my ass outta bed if I had my way - so alas, bathroom trips at the crack of dawn was the way it went for the first several weeks.
I threw on my Hello Kitty pajama pants and a short, yellow dressing gown - slipped on some battered black and white Adidas superstars and threw a big brown overcoat over all the morning mess that I was - got Katalin on a short lead and we headed off for a quick round of the block. We walked - and stopped - walked - and stopped - walked....well, you get the picture.
I was half asleep and salivating at the thought of getting back indoors and climbing back into my warm, soft bed and dozing when a sight entered the corner of my eye....a HUGE, white/dove grey dog with dark grey patches on it's face and some along it's neck - rather peculiar was the fact that for such a massive animal it's tail was nearly non existent and it's ears were really short. It's human was scruffy, had a dark aura about him and was snarly looking - he was holding his dog on a very short leash as we walked by. Katalin approached what looked like her grand-uncle from another breed and age of antiquity very innocently and started sniffing - kisses were exchanged at one point and the behemoth appeared pleased, charmed even.
"Great Pyrenees?" I asked sheepishly with a smile
"Central Asian Shepherd" He replied in a smoky, mysterious Russian accent.
"Oh...I've never seen one; he's beautiful"
"Yeah, you don't see many in Canada"
"She's about...half a year?" As he eyed Katalin and smiled somewhat
"Just 4 months - she's got a long way to go" I replied. "How old's he?" I asked pointing to the CAS. Katalin looked up at me with a child's curious yet reserved gaze "What are they mommy?" She would have whispered into my ear if she could talk and indeed get me to put my ear to her level.
"Oh, He's 9..." He patted his giant shepherd and gave me a pensive, distrustful sort of a look; perhaps it was the pattern of a mouthless cartoon cat holding cupcakes on my sleepwear that bemused him - or my disheveled hair and unwashed face - or maybe both, who knows?
"Well...he's lovely. Have a good morning" I led Katalin in the opposite direction back home.
Apon arriving I shucked my shoes and coat off and Katalin went back into the corner she designated for slumber for herself and I switched on my laptop, opened google, and punched in "Central Asian Shepherd"....
Russian, Turkish, and English sites popped up and photos of these formidable creatures invaded my screen - black and white, tan, grey, blue, all black... Not a dog I'd consider for myself I thought (at the time...) but certainly impressive...
I was too tired to do more in depth research at the moment - so I closed my laptop and tucked myself back into bed. The images and memories of the encounter with the Russian man and his mysterious, magnificent dog would linger in my mind for a long time...our next encounter....in the next post....to be continued....
I threw on my Hello Kitty pajama pants and a short, yellow dressing gown - slipped on some battered black and white Adidas superstars and threw a big brown overcoat over all the morning mess that I was - got Katalin on a short lead and we headed off for a quick round of the block. We walked - and stopped - walked - and stopped - walked....well, you get the picture.
I was half asleep and salivating at the thought of getting back indoors and climbing back into my warm, soft bed and dozing when a sight entered the corner of my eye....a HUGE, white/dove grey dog with dark grey patches on it's face and some along it's neck - rather peculiar was the fact that for such a massive animal it's tail was nearly non existent and it's ears were really short. It's human was scruffy, had a dark aura about him and was snarly looking - he was holding his dog on a very short leash as we walked by. Katalin approached what looked like her grand-uncle from another breed and age of antiquity very innocently and started sniffing - kisses were exchanged at one point and the behemoth appeared pleased, charmed even.
"Great Pyrenees?" I asked sheepishly with a smile
"Central Asian Shepherd" He replied in a smoky, mysterious Russian accent.
"Oh...I've never seen one; he's beautiful"
"Yeah, you don't see many in Canada"
"She's about...half a year?" As he eyed Katalin and smiled somewhat
"Just 4 months - she's got a long way to go" I replied. "How old's he?" I asked pointing to the CAS. Katalin looked up at me with a child's curious yet reserved gaze "What are they mommy?" She would have whispered into my ear if she could talk and indeed get me to put my ear to her level.
"Oh, He's 9..." He patted his giant shepherd and gave me a pensive, distrustful sort of a look; perhaps it was the pattern of a mouthless cartoon cat holding cupcakes on my sleepwear that bemused him - or my disheveled hair and unwashed face - or maybe both, who knows?
"Well...he's lovely. Have a good morning" I led Katalin in the opposite direction back home.
Apon arriving I shucked my shoes and coat off and Katalin went back into the corner she designated for slumber for herself and I switched on my laptop, opened google, and punched in "Central Asian Shepherd"....
Russian, Turkish, and English sites popped up and photos of these formidable creatures invaded my screen - black and white, tan, grey, blue, all black... Not a dog I'd consider for myself I thought (at the time...) but certainly impressive...
I was too tired to do more in depth research at the moment - so I closed my laptop and tucked myself back into bed. The images and memories of the encounter with the Russian man and his mysterious, magnificent dog would linger in my mind for a long time...our next encounter....in the next post....to be continued....