Interview: Magic the Mutt

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: Magic (8 year old mixed-breed)

Home: Hong Kong

Magic was found wandering the streets when a woman noticed him. She was a dog rescuer who was apartment hunting but he began following her. She put out an announcement for a lost dog but when nobody came back for him, she tried to rehome him for the next couple of years.

Magic lived at a farm and then a warehouse, where he was a guard dog for two years. He did have an adoption trial, but it ended in a few days because of the other resident dogs. Through it all, he was very lucky to have the same rescuer follow his journey. In the end, she brought him to Kirsten's Zoo. At that time, Magic was four years old and the kennel he lived at was a temple-turned-carpark with three other dogs.

When we went to visit the kennel, Magic was the only dog there that was keen on people and offered us a pawshake! That’s when we decided to take Magic home. We wanted a name that was ethereal or space-related. At first, we thought Rocket or Star, but Magic was softer.

Magic used to have a brofur named Cash, who we initially fostered so there were some territorial instincts. Magic began this habit of emitting low growls at Cash that we couldn't detect well with human ears. It was a deep humming. Whenever we stopped to talk about it, the noise went away. It was Magic all along. He just stopped when we were suspicious! One day, we were vacuuming and saw Magic making a face at Cash. He was growling through the vacuum noise. He stopped whenever we turned off the vacuum.

Magic prefers human contact over other dogs, because he's timid and insecure. He suffers from separation anxiety and according to behaviorists, it looks severe. We train him everyday and it's slowly getting better. We're worried that his anxiety could reduce his life span. It takes Magic some time to warm up to other pets, but he isn't aggressive. Other than that, he hates puddles, rain and areas with stench; he hates the dog park, which doesn't help with his socialization!

Follow Magic and watch him grow up on Instagram here.