Chili the Explorer

Chili has a very curious nature or to be more accurate, she’s nosey. Absolutely everything new or different must be checked out. If you try to keep her away from something she has in her sights, well, it just makes it worse. Now, she really, really has to check it out. Have you ever tried to keep a very determined dog away from something? Not an easy task. We can tell how determined she is by the level of crazy face she’s wearing. She doesn’t forget either. You can drag her away but a couple of hours later, as soon as she sees an opportunity, she’ll run to the spot you tried to keep her away from.

The Poor Bee. All it was trying to do was warm up in the sun, but no, it had to be stalked by a big crazy faced beast. Chili loves sticking her nose on things and stomping them with her paw to see what will happen. It’s all a part of the exploration. We did keep her away, but it made her even more focused and as you can see from the picture, the crazy face was on. Of course I didn’t want the bee to get hurt, and I didn’t want Chili to get hurt either. I knew what would happen if I let her explore this one, she’d end up with a bee sting on the end of her nose, then knowing me, we’d be throwing her in the truck and going straight to the vet. No waiting to see what might happen, just straight to the vet just in case. Call me crazy, I call me cautious.

Everything new that’s brought into the house has to undergo a thorough inspection. She’s got her head stuck in every bag or box. “What’s in there, let me sniff it. Is that a new shirt? It looks better with a nose print, don’t you think?” Oh yes, she sticks her big head in the bags as you’re carrying them in. You wonder why the bag suddenly feels so heavy. When you look down, all you see is her body and her head buried in the bag. She can’t even wait until you put them down. Her favourite bags, the grocery bags of course. There’s always something interesting in those.

Today, I pulled out a cowboy hat that I had bought in Mexico a few years ago. I was sitting on the back step wearing it when Chili came by and sat beside me. Then she mashed her head into my neck and started licking me. At first, I thought she was just being loveable, I should have known better. She had an ulterior motive. She had to check out the hat. It didn’t matter that it was on my head, she was going to check it out and that was it. Before I knew it she was on top of me licking my hat. I was laughing so hard I couldn’t push her off. Of course this just made it worse.

Why haven’t I trained this out of her? Some of it I’m working on and some of it I’m not. Although we protest a lot, we laugh a lot too. If I trained everything out of her, then I’d be left with a dog that just lays there not being allowed to be herself and explore and love the life she’s living. I think there’ll be plenty of time for lying around when she’s older. Although I have a hard time picturing Chili just laying there and watching things happen instead of being in the middle of it. To me, she’ll always be crazy Chili.

Chili's Magic Wand

Chili was born a magician with her own magic wand. She didn’t have to go to school to learn how to use it, she just knew. She knew she had the power. She has all the moves that mystify, enchant, make you smile and laugh until it hurts. When she has you in her sights, she has the focus and patience that captivates. You are under her spell, and she knows it.

I have spoken in past posts about people being nasty to us, calling her vicious, gathering their dogs and kids as we walk by, or simply avoiding us by crossing the street. This is one end of the Chili spectrum, where people give her a quick look, and a quick judge. The other end holds all those people that tried to ignore her, but couldn’t. Those who found themselves laughing and smiling and giving her all the attention she demands. These are the ones who have fallen under the Chili spell.

I shouldn’t be surprised by it, that’s how we ended up adopting her. She used her magic wand on us. As I was walking along the rows of cages at the SPCA, I could hear a light thumping. As I kept walking, it got louder and louder until I was standing in front of her cage. She started to cast her spell. I walked away but could still hear the light beating, beckoning me to return. I couldn’t ignore it. As before, it got louder and stronger as I approached. That was it, she had me.

I now get to sit back and watch her cast her spell on others. My favourite place is at the vets office. Most people there could use a smile. I take a seat and have Chili sit in front of me. Chili then singles out her target. She begins by staring and lightly thumping her tail. Usually the target will give her a quick look. That’s all Chili needs. She then sits a little taller and thumps her tail a little harder. The target will look again and smile. Then Chili sits as straight as she can, thumping her tail as hard as she can while intently staring. The target can’t help but look, but this time they can’t look away. They start smiling and Chili starts vibrating with excitement. Then the target always comes over to say hello and Chili is rewarded with the attention she wanted, and the target gets a lot of wiggles, licks and love in return all the while being beaten by Chili’s tail. The magic wand in action. She’s just added some happiness to someones day.

I’m proud of my girl and how she uses her powers for good, mostly. She seems to have a special place in her heart for elderly people, especially men. She pays special attention to them when they walk by and most times, she uses her powers to draw them right to her. She knows not to jump and snuggles up to them, licking and licking, and thumping her tail. Showering them with Chili love. There’s usually lots of laughter and talk about how wonderful she is and once again, Chili has left someone smiling. She’s really good at picking out the elderly men with cookies too. She hasn’t been denied yet.

She has a lot of followers who have gotten used to seeing us and immediately come over to say hello. Not to me, I’m just the tagalong. Chili and her magical powers at work. Spreading mostly good around the world but even when she’s being bad, she still makes people smile.

I can’t imagine Chili without her wand. She’s lucky that she still has it and it wasn’t taken away from her. She is a Boxer/Rottweiler cross and we all know that most of them have their wands/tails taken away from them when they’re young. I guess those that take them away don’t realize just how special they are. I believe the true standard is nurturing the magic they were born with. That should be the standard.