ELAINE HENDRIX TALKS DOG

FOR THE LOVE OF A JINDO

By Elaine Hendrix
Photo By Elaine Hendrix

"Wow, your dog is gorgeous! What kind is he? Husky? Shepherd? Akita?" If I've heard that once, I've heard it a hundred times. I thought it myself when I first saw him and didn't learn he was a Jindo until we walked up to his mirror image at the dog park. Like most people, I never even knew the breed existed. They're not common nor are they the easiest to care for - but boy do they make life interesting and so rewarding.

The Jindo came into my life as I was driving to set one day. Sniffing grass on the side of a busy Los Angeles street, he was skinny, filthy and bleeding. He had a collar and a leash, but no tags and no guardian anywhere to be found. Did no one else see this sweet baby who obviously needed help? I pulled over and gently walked up to him, picked up the leash and he followed me as if we'd been together since day one. He hopped in my car and we rode to work in joyous relief - me for getting him off the street, him for being gotten off the street. We showed up on location and he politely greeted everyone. Even as skinny and filthy (and intact) as he was, he was clearly very special. We made a little area for him, and I immediately started making calls to network his return home, or even better, find a new one that would properly take care of him. I couldn't help fantasizing that his new home might be mine, so I made a call to my boyfriend at the time to give him a heads up, "We might need to foster this poor dog I found on the street"¦for just a little while."

Of course, we ended up keeping "Rossmore." Even when we discovered that once off leash Dr. Jekyll turned into Mr. Hyde; a Mr. Hyde that could literally bite the hand that fed him, escape from almost any situation, run as fast and as far as possible, shed like he's molting twice a year, act stubborn beyond belief, and not always play well with others. "Special" indeed, yet to witness this lone wolf become a pack member has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

I will never forget when I gave him his first bone. He looked at it and then at me like we were both aliens. So I gave my Cattle Dog hers and she instantly started doing her dog thing to it. He watched her, then looked at me, then the bone, then back at her, back at me, the bone, her, me, bone and then"¦ he took it. From that moment on, whatever she did, he did.

Five years and a tremendous amount of work later, he is one of the sweetest, most loving dogs. His desire to please has overridden his wild instincts, as well as his scars of abuse and neglect. He still follows the lead of my Cattle Dog, and yet has developed his own unique and quirky personality. Jindos definitely aren't for everyone, but as it is so often said, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." I'm forever grateful for the day I drove up Rossmore Avenue on my way to set and looked over to see my teacher. I had no idea just how ready I was.

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