PET OF THE MONTH, BODHI
FROM OCTOBER 2021 ISSUE OF WEST END PHOENIX
On a late September afternoon with a hint of fall in it, Bodhi, the miniature pinscher, narrows his eyes and surveys his terrain from the Dovercourt Park bleachers on the lap of his owner, Chris
His growl, his well-worn, mini stone-washed jean jacket and the glint of grey in his muzzle all work to give Bodhi the aura of an ex-con trying to make a new start in life.
Chris received Bodhi as a 30th-birthday present after offhandedly mentioning to his parents the idea of getting a rescue dog. Bodhi was an intense animal from the start, and the ensuing 11-plus years have not been the easiest ride.
Miniature pinschers were bred to attack vermin, and that five-alarm aggression remains as constant as the northern star. It means Chris has to pay sharp attention to (and full-spectrum mediate) every single interaction his dog has every single day – from squirrels to dogs to humans. He can never simply walk down a street or have a friend over unprepared. There will be growling, barking or even nipping. It gives Bodhi that kind of tragic condition Hemingway referred to as being “bitched from the start.” (To be fair, Hem put us all in that condition.)
Bodhi’s namesake is the Patrick Swayze character in Point Break, the blond-mulleted, robustly muscled surfer-criminal who dispenses zingers like, “If you want the ultimate, you’ve got to be willing to pay the ultimate price.” Other than being prescient in its interest in extreme sports, hand-held-camera chase scenes and Keanu Reeves, Point Break delivered an action movie ethos decidedly different from its predecessors. Perhaps that’s because it was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who was not just interested in depicting a surface-level maleness of guys surfing and jumping out of planes. She matched the heists and big waves with the philosophical motivations behind the ways these characters lived. They weren’t men of action as much as they were men who approached action as a way of articulating their beliefs.
Cue Bodhi, the intense, rough-around-the-edges brah with a heart of gold. If equating Swayze’s Bodhi with a bitchy, dirty-denimed dog diva who answers to no one seems like a stretch, you only have to look to the miniature pinscher breed, oft referred to as “the King of Toys.” According to one breeder’s site, “the min pin is no pushover and makes for a surprisingly great little guard dog.” The subtext, of course, being that any dog who makes a “great little guard dog” has a complicated relationship with humans. Does Bodhi the dog really embody a high-level surfer who robs banks in his spare time? Maybe. What Bodhi (canis) does possess is that same brand of Point Break Swayze duality: a fierce aggression, and its flipside, an oceanic charisma that makes for a personality that is far from toy-sized.
Bodhi has one dog buddy, Cheewee, a teacup chihuahua with his own Instagram account – a relationship made possible by the fact they’ve known each other since they were small enough to have lost their baby dog teeth in each other’s neck scruff. Chris refers to Cheewee as the Johnny Utah (Keanu) to Swayze’s Bodhi. There was something oddly perfect about pairing Swayze and Keanu in Point Break. A relationship, according to one fan site, “full of complexity and passion.” In other words, despite being in a cop-apprehending-criminal story, they were crushing on each other so hard.
Now in his twilight years, a recently detected tumour on Bodhi’s leg stirred up a flood of emotions for Chris. On one hand, wouldn’t life be so much easier? On the other, his close companion would be gone. And because when a dog chooses you, and settles into your lap wanting love and you give it, what else is this, except the world? And it strikes me, seeing them sitting double-denimed together, and all the weary, knotted, deep love Chris has for his pet, that Chris is the true Keanu to Bodhi’s Swayze.
The tumour was benign. As Bodhi says in Point Break’s final, rain-soaked scene (Swayze and Hemingway, who knew!), “Life sure has a sick sense of humour, doesn’t it?”