Interview: Kaya

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.

Doggo: Kaya (8 years old)

Home: Hong Kong

My sister actually came up with the name Kaya. Kaya is like Asia’s Nutella equivalent for those that don’t know. It is a spread made from eggs, sugar, and coconut. It was her condiment of choice during her college days when most of her closest friends are from Malaysia and Singapore. She’d be having kaya every morning with her toast (aka kaya toast) and some eggs dipped in Malaysian fucking spicy sambal sauce. Weird, I know. I actually didn’t know what kaya was until she named our dog Kaya, and I tried it and have been a fan ever since. And it ain’t with my diet (Editors notes: our friend here is a fitness fanatic).

My mom and sister love dogs, I spent my childhood growing up alongside our English Cocker Spaniel and my grandma’s Pomeranian. I mean I liked them because they were “our” dogs, but if I have to be honest, I’m more of a cat kind of guy and I’m not that fond of small dogs. When our English Cocker Spaniel passed away due to old age, my mom and sister insisted we get another one. I was like if we were going to get a dog, my only request was it had to be a Labrador or Golden Retriever because they’re the sweetest ever! And so we got cream American Labrador!

I was studying abroad during Kaya’s teenage years. So I’m not completely sure what triggered him back in the day, but it’s safe to say Kaya is a dogist. He ABSOLUTELY hates ALL Shiba Inus on the face of this planet. He would go fucking berserk and want all the smoke with that Shiba. So it isn’t easy bringing Kaya out to dog parks or places with a lot of dogs since Shibas are quite popular in Hong Kong.

I would describe Kaya as an over friendly playful pussy. (Except I don’t get why he won’t let anyone pick him up! I always want to give Kaya a piggy back ride.) He only ever barks when he wants to play and he’s super nice to strangers… just to give you some context, we live in a mountainous area where burglaries are not uncommon. So one day I was playing ball with Kaya at the living room and I saw a burglar in our garden area. My immediate reaction was to lock all the doors and reach for the phone to call the cops. Kaya just kept passing me the ball and wanted to play. Unbelievable.

But yeah, the tennis ball is his “Almighty.” You have no idea how many balls we went through over the years because there’s one constantly in his mouth and he chews them like gum.

Kaya is so smart. He knows his sad puppy eyes are his secret weapon. He just magically makes everyone do shit for him. He’s so smart, he responds to multiple dialects and languages! English, Cantonese and Tagalog and some Shanghainese!

Find more #furfriends in Hong Kong here.