Ninja and Kuma
Photo:
'Best Buddies". Ninja and Kuma/Summer '98.
My red Chow Chow, Ninja, was fourteen and-a-half when he left me in November, 1998. Kuma was my black Chow, and I lost him November 26, 1997. He was twelve and I was heart broken, as was Ninja. They were best buddies...amazingly both being male and not fixed, they fought only a couple times when they were young and never again. They loved playing together and were rarely apart for Kuma's 12 yearsÐ you could count the total separation in hours.
I always had a large truck so that they could travel comfortably with me. Kuma usually managed to work his way forward and sit in the front passenger seat. Whenever I would leave the truck for a minute, he would always sit in the driver seat waiting for me.
They were very different in personality. Ninja was passive and calm; he stopped before coming in from the rain so that his paws can be wiped dry. Kuma was a nut. He was always getting into trouble, would steal Ninja's food, try and climb a tree whenever he saw a squirrel run up it. But he was also the more affectionate of the two, and would push Ninja out of the way so he could get the attention. Ninja would push back if he felt shortchanged.
Both loved the New England winter. Once I didn't realize it was snowing and looked out back for them...I couldn't see them. I called them and both lifted their heads with 5 inches on snow covering them. I felt fortunate because for most of the past 6 years I have worked at home and could spend much more time with them then had I worked at an office away from home. We always took them with us up to our Vermont vacation home. They loved it there. When Kuma was a pup at 7 pounds, a large dog came over and started growling at him. Ninja ran over and jumped on the dogs back chasing it away.
The last time I brought them up there, July 4th weekend 1997, we went for a long walk. Kuma got tired and kept lying down...his hind legs were giving out a bit. Finally I picked him up and carried him most of the way home. Ever since then his love for me seemed to jump 300%. It's like he never forgot that.
I consider myself lucky they spent their lives with me. Every vet or occasional kennel that saw them said each was the best, friendliest Chow they had ever seen. To have two like that they said was 'impossible'.
Thank you Ninja and Kuma, we miss you. Goodbye old friends.
Photo:
"What do you mean you're getting another Chow?" Ninja as a pup.
Kuma: Houdini in a past life?
In our last home I used to keep both Chows in a large kitchen when I went out. I had a gate on one entrance and a sliding door on the other. Every time I would come home both guys were staring out the window by the door; they always got out of the kitchen. The sliding door was ajar every time, so I decided to block the door with a chair. They still got out. I set up a camcorder to tape the escape and left the house for a few minutes. They got out, and I went to view the tape.
Here's how they did it: As soon as I left, Kuma (of course!) would wimper and pace back and forth. He then PUSHED the chair out of the way and would jam his paw against the sliding door until it was open a few inches. He then would stick his muzzle in the space and slide the door open just enough to get through. Ninja would watch this happen, then follow him out. I still have the tape.
Photo:
"It Wasn't Me..." Kuma as a pup.
Kuma The Cattle Chaser
(Alternate Title: "Kuma thinks he is as big as a cow")
In Jan 1991, the day the Gulf War started, I moved back to Massachusetts from California. I had two vehicles to bring back, plus an employee was moving at the same time, so we decided to drive across country rather than have the vehicles transported. Both Chows rode with me in my truck.
Well, the first day we were near Kingman, Arizona on I-40 when my Blazer got a flat tire while in the left lane. My truck veered off the road into the median (taking out dozens of shrubs and small trees!), then zipped back on the freeway nearly hitting a semi. I pulled over immediately, and got out to talk to my friends in the other two cars. "Wow-did you see that!" I said. Right away Kuma jumps out the slightly ajar door and runs west down the east-bound lanes of I-40. I couldn't see him because of trees in the way, but I could see (and hear) cars and trucks slamming on their brakes and swerving.
I got in my truck and back-tracked to where he should have
been...but he wasn't there. I found a hole in a chain-link
fence he must have gone through, so I went on through (laying on
my back in a ditch.) I caught glimpses of him running up and down
the gullies far ahead over prairie grass and shrubs, then lost
sight of him. Finally I saw several dozen cattle running, with
Kuma barking and chasing them! All I could think of was that he
was going to get squashed. I moved in closer calling him and he
started to run my way...with the cattle chasing him! They were
all coming my way! Photo: Kuma and Ninja/winter '97
Kuma was now running back towards the fence and I ran after him. We have now run about 3-4miles. I followed him to the same hole in the fence, and found him just sitting by my truck while Ninja (still in the truck) was barking at the both of us. To this day there is a small rip in my windbreaker from the chain link fence.
Photos Above: "Basking in the Autumn Sun". Kuma and Ninja in Vermont, October '93.
For information on Chow Chows, visit the Happy Chow Site.
