Luna Dog

My dog, Luna, is a rambunctious ball of stress and chaos. She is an Australian cattle dog and feels the need to herd everyone in the house at all times (especially small children). She gets excited when she hears word like “ball” and “squirrel.” She barks constantly when she hears cars outside. She gets tired after only times chasing a ball during fetch. She will bump her head under you while you are in a hammock. She will only let you lay on her or hug her after 10 PM when she gets tired because she is too active before then. This is her personality at the surface level but there are many nuances that make her personality far deeper to me. 

My family has prescribed a voice for Luna. It is a high pitched and somewhat raspy voice that we believe conveys the rambunctiousness of her dog personality. She can he dopey, she can be snarky, she can be excited. The voice we do is always based on whatever is happening in the moment but it is still what we want to see in her and what we want to believe she is thinking. Though this fact has even become sort of meta as “she” will reference her own walnut brain. “She” often insults our cats, begs for food, and complains about discrimination towards animals without opposable thumbs. I think of the voice as a vocalization of the thoughts that she would probably have if she were smart enough to think of them. Because of this voice, it is funny to have conversation with Luna. My family will speak for Luna and I often have back and forths with “her.” For instance, I often am annoyed and tell her to stop bothering me when I am getting ready for school and “she” will respond back telling me that I am the one in her way. I think this aspect is just as much of her personality even if it is all only in our collective idea of her. So, the personality of my dog is equal parts her actions and equal parts her words but her words are not even her own. 

Over the years Luna has learned that the voice that we are making out loud has something to do with her. Staying true to her energetic self, she gets excited and begins wagging her tail when the voice is used and if we continue going she will begin barking. Her real voice reveals itself. In my head this reinforces the idea I have about her personality because she is acknowledging that the voice has something to do with her. Although she is hard to calm down I am often pleased by her almost going along with this idea we have constructed of her.

I enjoy the personality that has been constructed for my dog though it is largely an expansion of what I want to see in her. She is nice to have around and it really makes her more interconnected with my family. Even though she is a stress filled, rambunctious, loud animal, it is nice to have her as company in the household. We all contribute a little to her personality and that is what makes her special to me.