An ode to Maji (the dog)

 

Elegant pose, died on July 27, 2024

I have written about the challenges of keeping dogs in this environment and I have written a goodbye to Poppy and now I am sadly writing a goodbye to Maji. We had a flurry of issues with both our dogs and I was unfortunately in Kenya at the time of his death. I had a report that in the night time he was wandering around camp looking for water and the next day was walking unsteadily. We transported him to town and within a few hours he was dead upon arrival. 

Maji was definitely not the best behaved dog and had he not been taken in by camp he was surely the runt of the litter and would not have survived long. His food drive was extremely high and he would often misbehave or put himself at risk for the sake of food.

However, Maji had a fun personality and was unequivocally goofy. One of our favorites was Maji laying next to the couch and looking up at us with textbook puppy eyes looking to be pet. He also had this fruity little trot he would engage when it was near to meal time and we were talking to the kitchen. His legs were a little too long for his body so he had a unique gait, especially when galloping like a horse. His long legs led to him often contorting himself in uncomfortable looking positions while laying down. 

This can't be comfortable...

I also loved that Maji liked to roughhouse a bit. This contrasts with his extremely jump nature which improved as he got older. When he was younger if he was startled he would jump in the air like a literal cartoon. Perhaps some of this is coming from when he was neutered at a young age and he recoiled into a ball when the vet approached him. Or when he fell off the stairs at the ghorofa after spending days working up the courage to climb them. 

Maji also learned a lot from the Anatlion Shephard, Hodari. I didn't realize the extent at which dogs did this but Maji learned how to wag her head and emit a low growl when he was happy to see you. Maji had an unrequited love of Hodari, something that was really fun to see when Maji was a puppy and Hodari was an old dog. The spirit of the dogs will live on!

For anyone that has lost a dog, I encourage you to read this poem from Rudyard Kipling, it's a little outdated but the sentiment remains.

https://poets.org/poem/power-dog

Happy to see me!

Ah the good times when we'd bring a hueso de jamon for them after our annual leave

With his brother

At a young age

With Hodari