Gringo Toribio...

Today I'm going to talk about my dog, Gringo Toribio (yes, he has two names); and I decided I was going to write about him because I'm particularly down today, and he came by to the bathroom to cheer me up. And he did.

Since day one I knew Gringo was different... I haven't actually tested him, nor do I have a proper diagnose about him... but I've always said that he's autistic. 

And I actually believe that he is... or maybe he's just THAT cool, and he lives his own life, the way he WANTS to live it... so maybe he's in my life to teach me how to properly live.

It took us about two weeks to named him, because we don't like stupid comun names on dogs. We like to think properly on how we're going to name them... That's why my first dog was called "Poeta Jeremías" (Poet Jeremiah) a name that all my friends know about, and always laugh. But that name was unique, as my Poeta was.

And the name Gringo may not be as unique as Poeta (at least not here in a Latinoamerican country) but my Gringo definitely IS unique.

Like I was saying, it took us two weeks to named him, and we decided on Gringo because he had the bluest eyes I've ever seen on a dog... but after we finally named him, it took two or three more weeks for him to actually know that his name was indeed Gringo... I remember I'd took his ear, and said his name directly for him to acknowledge that HE was Gringo, and that WE were calling him.

In the next few years he showed us that he definitely has his own character. If I'm scolding him, he'd just give me a look and walk away... if I call him, and he's outside admiring the view (he does that) he'd just looked at me, give me another one of his "I don't care you're saying my name, I'm still not listening to you" look and go back to admiring the view.

He is that cool.

Another thing that he has, and why I say that he is autistic (with all do respect for anyone who has this condition, or have a child with it) is that he doesn't like to cuddle that much. Yes, he may come to ask you (the proper word would be to demand you) to pet him, but after a while he just walks away, bored.

And believe me, we're the type of family that love dogs, and my little cousins, mum and me will always be with a dog in our arms. But not my Gringo, he just wants you to sracth his ears, whenever HE wants it... is not in your power to decide that, because, you know... he is important and he has another more important things to do, like peeing, pooping, marking territory, eat whatever drops on the kitchen floor, and sleep.

AND if I hugged him too tight, he'd would growl.

I told you he doesn't like human contact.


But I still love him, I still believe he's more wise than me... I still admire his way of seeing life; and even though he doesn't know how to show it, I know he does love me.

Because he knows how to expres it. Like laying down on the floor, on whatever place of the house I'm in. Or when even if he has his own bed, he crawls next to whatever bed I'm sleeping.

Or specially when I'm in the bathroom and he walks in and wants me to pick him up and hug him... even if he growls 5 mins later, because... you know, he loves me but not THAT much. Lol

That's my Gringo Toribio. He'd be 9 years old next april (2015)... and autistic, and grumpy and liberal as he is; I love him to death.