Jonah from Tonga

Everybody knows Hendrix. He is even more famous than the one he borrowed his name from. You guessed right...Jimi. I blogged so many times about him...and if I'd keep doing that, he may be more popular than Paris. No, not the town! So if you never heard about Hendrix is just because you didn't want to. Otherwise he is everywhere. Just google him. He has more hits than the Pope! However, let me just remind you that Hendrix is my 15 months old puppy, black like the darkest night, stubborn, demanding and naughty. Hendrix is everything to me even if, back in my Auckland home, he chewed everything he was able to, starting with cables, couches, chairs, carpets, trees and even....a metal lamp. I told you he was stubborn. He escaped my property as many times as he felt like it and the neighbourhood's biggest task was to catch him and bring him back home. Nobody got upset because everybody knew how playful and lovely Hendrix can be. Plus I rewarded the lucky ones with free Personal Training sessions. But this is confidential! Things changed though when I moved to a small area in Coromandel peninsula. Even if he is just a puppy, Hendrix is huge and some neighbours thought that his soul may be as black as his fur. But this is not the case at all. He is a lovely, naughty puppy...and he is mine. And because he is, also because I am more stubborn than he can be, I decided to enrol him in a school....doggy school. 

So here I was, at 7pm in the Placemakers carpark....hoping that a miracle would happen and the course would be canceled. But it was not! So I hopped off my car with Hendrix beside me. Not before I checked I had everything the dog whisperer required me to bring. Not a lot though: a soft collar (brand new, blue and very smart by the way!), poo bags and treats. I looked at other dog owners entering the warehouse with small bags of doggy treats and I thought to myself "no, that was nothing for a dog like mine!". So I filled in all my pockets with all sorts of tasty treats for my dear Hendrix baby, up to the point where I felt like too heavy to walk. And I entered...and that's when the show started. Nothing like my son's or my daughter's first day at school. There were a few tears back then....but nothing major. Third time at school, I knew how to handle this, I thought. But I didn't. Firstly, very excited of seeing so many dogs around, Hendrix started pulling, yelling and barking. Just one of Hendrix' normal tantrums. Anyway, the smart leash broke, but at least it lasted while we made the big entrance!

The trainer already met my puppy at the private session I paid her for. She also knew that this one was a worry! So, after she pet the trouble maker on the back,  she tried to speak to other dog owners. Tried is correct, because nothing and nobody can cover Hendrix' voice. They may understood her, but I doubted. Anyway they all stood in a circle with their well behaved dogs at their left. At some point, I wondered why were they attending the obedience school. Their dogs were obedient alright. Their problem how they spent their money! So back to the circle. Not us tough! We, Hendrix and I, had to walk through the isles...to calm the beast down. It's a tactical move, the trainer told me. "Just walk", the dog whisperer said, "he will calm down"....but he didn't. So we walked and from time to time I tried to pull him closer to the circle. Just to hear what the trainer told others. But I didn't...Hendrix barked continously!

A haft an hour later, tired of walks, Hendrix started spitting himself. That was something new, I thought. Full of all sorts of gluey, disgusting spit, the boy decided to get closer to the circle .... exactly at the moment when dogs where required to sit. Now, this was our moment to shine! Mum and baby boy together! Hendrix can be naughty and demanding, but he is smart and he knows all the tricks. He sits and shakes and lays down and even rolls on command. So, I have to proudly tell you that he was the only one doing what the trainer asked to. All eyes on me! Exactly like in Will I Am and Britney's song! Wait a sec. I forgot to tell you that we still had to walk away from the crowd in between all those "sit"and "down" commands....but at least we shined! Not so much, because a few minutes later, Hendrix discovered on the ceiling some invisible birds he started chasing. Then, under the racks, some invisible mice he chased too! In the meantime, 12 other dogs sat calm in the circle. With them, the trainer's own 3 dogs that looked only in their owner's eyes. I tried catching Hendrix' sight, but he was to preoccupied looking at other dogs. Maybe he didn't want to spit himself. Maybe he tried to spit them....as a statement of his mood!

Should I continue? Maybe not! All I have to say is that an hour later (the longest hour in my whole life!) we, humans, were handed files with homework to do. Lots of it! That I am decided to do with Hendrix...no matter what! Not because I have too much time on my sleeve. The reason is in the paperwork given by my doggy's trainer. It's written there that not all the dogs would graduate....and I really want my Hendrix to get that nice green with pure gold writing certificate. And if he wouldn't, it's just because he is not one of those geeky ones! Hendrix may not be obedient, but at least he has character....and he is not boring like others....And to be honest, I am sure I found Hendrix' twin. Jonah from Tonga, of course! :)

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