I Will Never...

It's a phrase I use a lot, and I think it's because it gives me some certainty in this increasingly uncertain world. Saying I will never do something comes with a full stop. Period. No negotiations. The problem with it, though, is that I oftentimes find myself doing what I said I would never do. I'm proud of myself for that, because it means I'm open to new ideas and am willing to change. Two weeks ago I broke my latest "I will never" when I found myself unable to say no to this little face.

Xeno, 3 November 2016

Meet Xeno, my new puppy. Xeno was probably born in late August and is a Sudanese street puppy, although I'm happy that he doesn't have the typical "desert dog" look common among street dogs. He and another dog we are assuming/calling his brother were wandering around a trash heap here in Khartoum and were found by two international teachers. They rescued him and knew that I had a soft spot for "the right dog" (my way of saying "I will never get a dog") and reached out to me. Well, they found the right dog. And now he is mine.

Xeno, 24 October 2016

As the pictures show, he's mostly black with tan legs, a tan face, and white paws and tail tip. He has a long tail that he's very good at catching and eating. His paws are pretty big and he has long legs that just keep getting longer. The vet is pretty sure he's going to be a big dog, so I'm in for a wild ride!

Xeno's been in my house for about two weeks now and is slowly getting adjusted to my rhythm, getting regular meals, having other dogs to play with (not just fight with for things), and the like. His personality is starting to show. He's a relatively mellow dog for being only a few weeks old, but loves to chew on power cords and step on anything that resembles a button. On the plus side with that, he's not a fan of eating shoes? Xeno is terrible at stairs (he's fallen down stairs three times already, each time hurting one of his paws and limping around my house for a few hours), clearly understands the word "no" but then does it anyway when he thinks I'm not looking, and thoroughly enjoys playing with his two chew ties, which are a rope giraffe and a felt zebra.

Xeno, 23 October 2016

So where does the name Xeno come from? Well, there are two parts. The first is from Harry Potter. Xenophilius Lovegood is a believer of wild conspiracy theories and seemingly nonexistent creatures. However, while many consider him crazy, he is a true believer and is willing to help anyone in their quest to find the answers and proof of the things he knows exist but maybe can't prove. In Harry's case, those are the Deathly Hallows. So Xeno is named after Xenophilius Lovegood because I admire his dedication to the causes and things he believes in, even when others tell him he's crazy.

The other part of his name is that "xeno-" is a prefix meaning "foreign." While most associate the prefix with the negative (xenophobia), I'm thinking of it as part of a positive (xenophilia). Thus, Xeno is also short for xenophilia, a love of foreign things. Seemed fitting given that he's a dog I adopted while living and serving overseas.

So there it is, I adopted a Sudanese street dog and named him Xeno. He's been a lot of work, but I'm excited to have a very energetic and happy dog to come home to every night after work. He seems to be adjusting well to life in a house, and I'm looking forward to many years with him!

Every now and then I find a YouTube channel to obsess over (you can wipe that shocked look off your face!), and one of my favorites is Kevin, Karla, y La Banda, a brother-sister duo from Chile. They take songs originally in English and translate/interpret them into Spanish, and they're amazing. Here's one of my favorites to end this happy post with a happy video: