The first time we met IP was in February. I went outside to go to the bathroom and to my surprise there was a puppy sitting on our neighbor’s coal pile. She acted as if it was the most normal thing in the world for a dog to be doing on a freezing cold day but we were worried that she had gotten hurt getting up there. We decided that we would give her an hour and then if she was still there, we would deal with the issue. As it turned out, she had just been put there temporarily and was then moved to our neighbor’s mother’s house which is around the corner. Her I-don’t-care attitude and totally ridiculous hangout spot lead us to calling her Irreverant Pooch, or IP for short.

Sadly IP has a tough life with not enough love or food. She is often covered in mud and roams town in search of food, but still she remains a spirited little thing. The best thing about IP is that she is often found hanging out with her owner’s herd of goats. You never really get the feeling that she is herding them or even protecting them, but instead it is more like she thinks she is a goat. When we go out with Santi we often can see the goat herd in the distance. If you look hard you can usually see IP in the middle wagging her tail and chasing the kids. A dog’s life in Mongolia is not always easy but IP certainly tries to make the best of what she has.