After I had returned from my most recent trip to Mexico, but before the pandemic crisis had begun in earnest, Alejandro's family got a new puppy. A neighbor's dog had a litter, and he gave one of the puppies to them. I was rather taken aback when Alejandro told me that it was a pitbull. But I guess the breed's dangerous reputation is more a matter of how it is raised rather than its inherent nature. He said that the puppy is very affectionate and playful, but very mischievous. Her name is Iztac… short for Iztaccíhuatl, one of the volcanic peaks near Mexico City. It's an appropriate name since in the Aztec language "Iztaccíhuatl" means "white woman".
Here are some photos that Alejandro sent me...
Iztac loves to chew on things, including one of Alejandro's sandals.
This cardboard box is her favorite hide-away. In the background is Luna, one of the family's other dogs.
Iztac on top of Olinka, the family's golden retriever
You can hardly tell that the bundle of white tucked under Alejandro's arm is Iztac, fast asleep.
By the time I make it back to Mexico again, Iztac will be older and bigger, and I will be a bit leery of her. Perhaps if I scratch Luna's ears (Luna loves to have me pet her), Iztac will see that I am a friend and not a foe.
Pitbulls often get a bad rap. One of my brothers-in-law and his wife have a pitbull, and it is one of the sweetest, most even-tempered dogs I have ever met. One of my other in-laws has a Jack Russell-corgi mix, and that dog, on the other hand, can be a real jerk.
ReplyDeleteYes, from what I have read, statistically pitbulls are not at the top of the list of breeds responsible for dog attacks. Every day, however, Alejandro is telling me about the trouble that Iztac gets into... chewing the furniture, peeing where she shouldn't, etc., etc. However he says that she is no worse than Olinka was when she was a puppy.
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