Answering this question properly meant learning more about dog breeds than I’ve ever known, as I would have been at a loss otherwise. The act of thinking about an animal with whom I might share a kindred spirit feels superficial, yet in most apparently-superficial things I often find a depth that betrays my profound ignorance. For example, when inquiring as to a friend’s spirit animal, she might tell me it’s a penguin and I’ll laugh. She’ll then go on to describe traits in penguins I had no idea they possessed, but that I certainly identify with her. In so doing, she’d have been revealing both a level of self-awareness I may or may not already have known she had and probably some trivia about the spirit animal in question I didn’t yet know. Therefore, in the spirit of answering this properly, I present to you as a list the seven major dog groups I found after less than thirty seconds of searching on the internet, accompanied by a three-word description of their traits. We can proceed from there.
- Working Group: intelligent; loyal; bodybuilder
- Herding Group: efficient; energetic; cunning
- Hound Group: hunting; affectionate; indefatigable
- Sporting Group: energetic; playful; outdoorsy
- Non-Sporting Group: loving; random; unique
- Toy Group: tiny; brainy; loving
- Terrier Group: friendly; beloved; vermin-killing
Based on the above and a few extra traits I didn’t include in the descriptions, I concluded the breed with whom I would most identify was to be found in the Working Group. At 6’3″, I am a tall man. That did not alone eliminate from consideration the Toy Group, as I could imagine without much effort a man half a foot taller than myself with a personality like a chihuahua, but it will suffice here to say that’s not who I am and so the Toy Group was, in fact, eliminated from consideration. Based on my limited knowledge, my height eliminated the latter four groups! While that would have been expedient, it also seemed cheap. Let me therefore offer a few traits I would consider self-defining: intelligent (as down on myself as I can get, I did graduate from a prestigious university with a degree in philosophy); strong (despite my slim frame, I do have broad shoulders and am known to be much more freakishly strong than I look); creative (though I’ve less to show for it than I’d like, I have at this writing been published a small handful of times and I’m actively working on music). These traits and their implications, plus one or two others that need not be mentioned here, eliminated from consideration all but the Working Group and the Herding Group. I found the latter worthy of consideration because I am an aspiring performer, but corralling people to be an audience has never been my game or intent. My name, Grigori, also means “watchful one,” so I fit in rather well with the large, loyal guard dogs.
Keeping all the above in mind, identifying with a breed was an easy and simple process. I had read Jack London’s The Call of the Wild and loved Buck for his perseverance and absolute will to survive. I had come across Siberian Huskies when the timing was just a little too weird not to notice. Huskies are in the Working Group. It’s a perfect fit.
“Ah, but Huskies are medium-sized dogs!”
Are they? Well, then I turn to the Husky’s larger American twin, the Alaskan Malamute! Affectionate to those whom he respects, playful but dignified, a heavy-duty worker, observant, large, intelligent. I have found myself in a dog.
With care,
~ Grigori