Interview: Diva

Pets, they’re your best friend and confidant. Big or small, fluffy or a bit scruffy, it doesn’t matter, we love them all. They’re there for you unconditionally and the feeling is mutual. Our interview series celebrates this special bond between animals and hoomans. Let the awws begin.

Hooman: Jen, self-proclaimed “crazy dog mother extraordinaire”

Doggo: Diva (10 year old). She has too many nicknames (in both Cantonese and English - she's a bilingual gal) to count! A few favourites: vava, nugget, flufferoni, dowager empress.

Home: Hong Kong via Baltimore, USA

I met Diva when she was four years old from a breeder in rural Pennsylvania and brought her back to Baltimore with me. She had been a momma dog - I got her right after she had her third and final litter. Don’t worry - her breeders were responsible and not puppy mills or a backyard breeder, so she came to me in great health except for some janky teeth.

Her name says it all. D-I-V-A. She is the Naomi Campbell of dogs. Occasionally when I ask her to do a trick, she will grumble and it sounds suspiciously like "Noooo". She came with the name. Before I met her, I was highly sceptical - who names their dog Diva? Of course after I got to know her, it all made sense. Love her sassy personality. And her fuzzy ears.

Pretty high on the list of worrisome things she’s done is when she ate a plush toy under the supervision of my then-boyfriend while I was on winter break in Hong Kong. I had to take her into the emergency vet for surgery to fish the toy out at midnight after flying for 24 hours.

Ever since we moved back to Hong Kong (two years ago), her life has gotten even more queenly. She has taken to sleeping with my parents because she knows they wake up earlier, so she can have her walkies and breakfast earlier. Then, the rest of her day revolves around finding the closest person who can give her chimken, reluctantly accepting pets and cuddles, walks to meet her other taitai (“housewives”) doggo friends, and inconveniently napping in the busiest thoroughfares of the house.

I got Diva when I was just figuring out my shit as an adult, so without getting too sappy I think learning how to take care of someone else also taught me how to take care of myself. Also, I get up waaaay earlier than I used to.

Read more interviews with other fluffy dogs and their hoomans here.