re: #442 Floral Giraffe

That, or the ex-wife!

By the way, FG, Jindos are as feisty as they look.

Haku is nearing seven years of age, but any rat that comes inside my tiny urban back yard has no chance of survival. I’ve disposed of countless corpses, and twice or thrice had the luck to witness the kill. Not a wasted movement, not a backwards look. He is murderous in his hunting instincts.

When I moved (alas! briefly) to Massachusetts in October, he encountered a porcupine who was nesting under the back porch. Most dogs, when they first meet a ‘pine, get it in the nose and back off. Haku didn’t hesitate or sniff around; he went straight for the throat, no doubt thinking it was an odd-looking rat with funny fur.

He got 150+ quills in his mouth for his trouble. But Porky was seriously wounded, and I had to finish him off with the house .22 rifle.

In Korea, hunting packs of Jindos are known to take down bear. They do the job and then one of them comes back to find the master, whilst the rest guard the kill. Korean hunting rarely involves guns; just intelligent, fearless dogs and a knowledgeable hunter.

They are also used as watchdogs on (South) Korean military bases. An average Jindo is capable of recognizing up to 3,000+ individuals. That’s a good-sized base. Anyone who belongs there, not a peep. Someone new shows up and they raise holy hell.

They’re also known for extreme loyalty. Jindos have been sold off Jindo Island (that’s where they were bred in isolation for centuries, natch) and months later showed up at their old master’s house, having swum the final distance between the island and the mainland. There are statues of them on either side of the bridge that was finally built.