Theresa de Silva wasn’t expecting to meet the love of her life when visiting her friend. But fall in love she did with her friend’s dog and before long, she was on the hunt for a Schnauzer of her own.
Finding him on Facebook was a blessing, and before she knew it, Closeau was firmly settled in her home, happy to be with his newfound family.
As cute as he is, Theresa, 62, said that Closeau has a stubborn streak and is prone to naughty behaviour.
“We had to send him to doggy school so that he could learn to be more obedient,” she recalled.
“He graduated with flying colours and even got praises from the teacher, but he was still the same mischievous pet when he came back,” she said.
One thing he did stop doing, after doggy obedience school, was dragging random objects around the house, so in Theresa’s eyes, that was cause for celebration.
Despite his cheekiness, Closeau is brimming with love for Theresa and is constantly by her side. On nights when Theresa works late, the loyal Schnauzer keeps her company, battling sleep himself until she calls it a day and heads to bed.
As for his culinary preferences, the seven-year-old is a definite meat lover, though the beef he dines on is mixed with boiled carrots come meal time.
“I combine dried kibbles with cooked food as well occasionally,” she shared, saying she even bought a slow cooker specifically for Closeau and her two other dogs.
While Closeau acts like the ultimate macho when he’s around his humans, like many other dogs, he literally “shakes with fear” during thunderstorms and when fireworks go off.
“He can be a real ‘scaredy cat’ sometimes,” Theresa joked, saying that come Chinese New Year every year, they make it a point to turn up the volume of the television just to drown out the noise of fireworks and firecrackers.
Thunderstorms and fireworks aside, Closeau has a fear of stairs as well. Even the sight of treats, deliberately placed on each step to encourage him to climb, doesn’t always work.
On the rare occasions when he does make it to the top, he is too terrified to find his way down. So, befitting the little prince that he is, he is carried downstairs instead, safe in the arms of his human.
Bedtime is the best, for it is when Closeau will snuggle up in his comfortable bed in Theresa’s room to catch his forty winks.
Closeau is also clearly brawn as well as brains. He’s a quick learner, albeit with treats being the main motivator.
Theresa said Closeau learned how to drag his bed out of the room every morning and place it in the sun to air dry. And he took just three days to learn this.
And being the sneaky Schnauzer that he is, he does the same for the other dogs’ beds as well. And only he knows if it was just a ploy to satiate his greed for even more treats.
While the fluffy companion obviously loves Theresa dearly, he also has a soft spot for her husband. “He finds his deep voice soothing, for some reason,” she said, smiling.
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This article was written by Toon Kit Yi. Read more pet stories here.
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