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.

Hanhongor is blessed with having a lot of very memorable and cute pooches. Over the next few months I hope to highlight some of the best, both past and present.

Our first guest is Bottle Brush Tail, or BBT, as we affectionately call him. His real name is Bombolei which is also a great doggy name, but in our eyes he’s still BBT.

Why is he called BBT you ask? Well check him out:

I think his tail must have gotten broken at some point in his life because he is unable to put it down. It is always sticking straight up. Perhaps this perpetual state of bravery has gone to his head because not only does nothing, including other pooches, seem to scare him, but he acts like the whole town is his home/urinal. At work at school? Look at your window to see BBT peeing on the monkey bars. Over at the bank for a little business? BBT is also there doing his business. Heading out to the outhouse? BBT is just leaving your yard after decorating the outside of the outhouse for you.

About the only place BBT is hardly ever seen is in his yard behind our house. When he is in the neighborhood, though, we know because Santiago is infatuated with him. Whenever she sees him, she barks, runs straight at him, and then circles him crying like a little girl puppy. BBT is a cool dog, though, and rarely takes notice of her. He just pees and moves on leaving us to console poor, broken hearted, Santiago. Love is cruel for pooches here in the Gobi.

Coming soon: Irreverent Pooch “The goat dog.”