Dog...A Man's Best Friend?

Okay, I can just see the question mark on your face as you see the picture for today's post! I am not a dog lover. Why would I take a picture of a dog, let alone, post it on my blog? Okay, since you asked, I'll tell you why!

This dog is part of our experience here in Mongolia. We met him the first day we were here. He hangs out two blocks away in front of Matt and Jessica's apartment building (they are teammates of ours, working for the same organization as we are). That's not so unusual. However, the unusual part is when this dog trots up to us like we're old, long-lost friends. He has never jumped up on us, he almost smiles at us, and he trots beside us in a very friendly manner. I've never felt threatened by him or afraid of him.

The strange part is that as he trots along beside us, he growls and lurches at almost every Mongolian male we pass. It's terribly embarrassing! He's trotted along beside us at least four times now, and every time he does this. People think he's our dog and they give us dirty looks. And, since we don't know how to say, "He's not our dog," in Mongolian, we just look at them with a concerned face and shrug our shoulders to try to convey that we don't know this dog! One man yelled at us and mimed something that looked like he had just said, "Muzzle your dog!" The dog had just gone up to him, barred his teeth, and growled and barked. Oh, I'm so sorry! I want to just sink into the ground.

I would love to know the history behind this behavior. I think he was terribly abused by a Mongolian man. But how strange that he can tell the difference between a Caucasian man and a Mongolian man. I've seen him be nice to Kevin, Micah, Matt, and Josh, all white men. He has never been aggressive to any of them or to any of us white women. Maybe I could become a dog-lover some day after all!