YIN-YANG

Oops, I always thought it was "ying"-yang till I looked it up. So long I have been so wrong. What I had been erroneously referring to is the slang term for the anus. Yikes. Ignorance is scary. Now that I have been corrected, what I am referring to here are the complimentary opposites I once had as house guests.

Yin was a 2.5 pound Chihuahua named Sissy. Yang was a 190 pound Great Dane named Loki. I apologize for the pictures. While they are old, they will at least help with the visualization.

Sissy would yap at or bite any one who wasn't me. Any Chihuahua owner will know exactly what I mean. Chihuahuas make it through life primarily by their cheek pinching cuteness and devotion to their owners, not their sweetness.

Loki was Mr. Mellow. He was a gentle giant who would never start a fight though he did on occasion, finish those that could not be avoided.

The two shared an uneasy peace as my house pets. If you could have asked them, they would have each insisted they were “only” dogs for there was no acknowledgment of the others existence. Sissy out of bitchyness, Loki out of wishful thinking.

The only point of agreement they had was in regard to my protection. Sissy would annoy away any perceived threat to me by nibbling on their ankles and her incessant yapping. She was as effective as pepper spray.

Loki just stood quietly between me and any intruder. No one, even those whom I wished, ever crossed the line he mentally drew. Both had to be sent to their separate rooms if I had company I might want to entertain.

I wish I knew what brought on what I am about to describe but truthfully, I have no idea. I came upon the scene once it was in motion.

I was cooking in the kitchen when I heard a repeated, “Ra-Roof, Ra-Roof , snuffle, snuffle”, coming from the living room. Now the voice was Loki's but that sound was really different.

As I peaked around the corner, what I saw at first frightened me and then I totally got the giggles. Looking hurt and quite bewildered, my giant dog was standing there, head erect , with my Chihuahua's tiny teeth sunken in as she hung from his upper lip. “Ra-Roof “ was the best he could do with a 2.5 pound weight attached to his lip.

To understand his predicament, grab your upper lip, pull down smartly and try to talk. I don't speak Dane, but I am pretty certain, “Ra-Roof“ meant “get-it-off-of-me!!” At least that is the cleaned up version.

Had Sissy just let go, she would have had quite a drop on to her spindly legs so she dug in. She was attached to his lip like a staple so it took some careful maneuvering to separate the two safely. The little tyrant didn't realize that had he wish to, Loki could have flipped her into his huge mouth like a Frito. She lived only through his grace.

Like I said, I have no idea what possessed her to attach herself to his lip but for some reason, after that episode, they suddenly started acknowledging and tolerating each other with almost affection. I would routinely catch her lying on top of his belly sleeping. Also, their staunch protective modes now included each other.

So they became Yin-yang—“polar or seemingly contrary forces that were interconnected and interdependent . Opposites that only exist in relation to each other.” That last is compliments of Wikipedia.

Any yin-yang in your life. Notice I was careful with the spelling.