In memory of Aja the Kuvasz, March 4, 1992-July 8, 1999

Back in late '91 my cocker spaniel, Shiney died in my arms of a heart attack, Shiney and I had been together constantly for years since I got her in an amicable split with an old live-in flame. The ex- got my cat, I got her dog Shiney, and the better of the bargain. Shiney was a personal friend of the singer Tiny Tim and she was a tiger in the body of a 20-pound dog and got torn up frequently when she challenged bigger dogs. After she died I waited 6 months to get another dog. I checked out the dog pound and selected a cute 5-6 year old mixed husky-lab. Which they told me I could pick up the next day. The next day I came back to pick up the dog, and they had euthanasized it because it had heartworms. Was I mad.

So I had been reading the paper that morning and had seen an advert that said "Kuvasz; the ultimate guardian" I checked out the breed in my AKC book and was intrigued. Curious, I called the breeder who had placed the advert. She was a partially blind lady from SC and we talked for about 2 hours about the breed, her philosophy of raising kuvasz and she was especially interested in what kind of dog owner I had been in the past. She told me that for every 5 calls she got concerning the purchase of one of her dogs, only one was invited to her breed farm, and that then only 1 in 2 she allowed to "adopt" one of her puppies. I was impressed by her and visited the next week, 300 miles away. She had beautiful dogs, bred Kuvasz, Collies, and Golden Retrievers. I got to meet the father and mother of the puppies, both themselves beautiful animals, not actually aggressive towards me, but very watchful in an unobtrusive sort of way…. I selected my Aja, a cute female because she was bold, beautiful, and unafraid of me, and she sat right in my lap when I sat with the puppies. Aja was a wonderful and wanderlust dog who when off the leash would roam the woods behind my house for hours with me chasing her a few strides behind in pursuit. She played with me like that all her life, and to see her run through the forest was truly a sight to behold. A touch small for her breed, Aja had such physical beauty that other Kuvasz owners spoke often of her that way, I am lucky to have seen it, and we lived together for years protecting and caring for each other in our own ways.





As I was leaving the bred farm the woman called out, "you'll be back for another, they always do" which I thought strange. But 8 months later, there I was again, and adopted Aja's full sister, but from a later litter. She was called Kodi. Kodi was a monster sized female kuvasz, weighing in at 150 pounds. She and Aja filled my life with joy and beauty all the years they shared their lives with me.

Aja was my best buddy for 7 years. She went everywhere with me. Aja and I had been inseparable from the moment I got her at 7 weeks. She slept at the foot of my bed and I even took her to work with me. She was so righteous, so gentle, so smart, my friends could not believe the things she seemed to understood from me, or even them. Often when she wanted something from me or wanted me to do something Aja would just look at me expecting me to understand or start trying to vocalize, and those who saw and heard her would be astonished and exclaim that she was trying to talk to us. Her definitive trait when happy or excited was to carry her luxurious tail in the air sweeping high over her back like a flag as she trotted; aprpos since the Kuvasz can trace its name to an ancient Sumarian cuniform description for the breed as "to the tail."




She had a noble and gentle spirit. When ever I drove anywhere there was Aja sitting in the back seat, her head calmly resting on my right or left shoulder watching the world pass by with the look of infinite curiosity at everything she saw.



She acted like Kodi's mom and was as gentle and doting with her younger sister as a mother with child. When I brought Kodi home, instead of acting jealous, Aja brought out her toys one-by-one and she and Kodi played with them together





Watching her and her sister grow into full dog-hood was the best gift nature has given me.






Aja became paralyzed in the hind legs on July 4, 1999 as the result of a stroke. I took her to 2 vet schools and 2 other vet specialists seeking help, but to no avail. After staying up all night on July 7 with her and videotaping the two of us on the living room floor with me discussing into the camera her life with me, I had her put down in the morning of July 8th as the sun rose. I held her head in my hands and kissed her, and watched her smile slip slowly and eyes go cloudy, then shut. It has been the hardest moment of my entire life. She was my best friend and it has been the saddest moment in my life, but I knew that we had shared something very special and that I had treated her with love and dignity her entire life.

Kodi passed away peacefully on January 17, 2006, after making it to her thirteenth birthday on Christmas. With my sweet Kodi's passing earlier this year, I miss Aja now more than ever as this time of year rolls around.



Looking westward, as the sun set on her sixth birthday

Hug your dogs.