03: Tenacity

If there is one word I would never use to describe myself, it would be tenacious. 

I once quoted one of my favourite lines from Home, "If the probability of success falls below 50%, Boov give up," as my go-to reason for why I don't put myself in situations where I have to keep holding on, for why I take fewer chances and risks, aside from the fact that I adore that movie.

But today’s story is not about me. 

It is about Kova, our 2-year-old German Shepherd, who taught me a lesson over the holiday that will stick with me this year.

Not Kova because someone forgot to take her picture.
Photo credit: Manjari Singh
Source: pexels.com

We never found out why, but she (I am sorry, I am not using it for Kova) had a lot of ticks on her, so we have to keep spraying her with anti-tick spray as often as possible. On this particular day, my brothers bathed and sprayed her as usual and left her to play in the compound. Everyone just went about their day until my dad got back from work. He noticed that Kova’s behaviour was a bit off and she was foaming at the mouth. In split seconds, everyone was out of the house, thinking of what went wrong, calling the vet to ask what to do, and finally deciding on the home remedy to give to ensure she is ok.

At some point, she was close to me, and I was rubbing her sides, trying to control her breathing (I am very sure it was my breathing that needed to be controlled). My brothers hosed her down to get rid of any medication left on her body, and the vet suggested we give her activated charcoal and palm oil. At first, we tried to give her that concoction, and after finding out how nasty that tasted, she walked away from all of us. She just left. I could hear that silent, “When y’all figure out what to do, you know where to find me." She went to her house and just waited there, patiently. She was in distress, but she handled it better than we all did. Afterwards, we administered the remedy, left her to rest, and hoped she got better before the next morning.

I remember waking up the next morning apprehensive that she had not survived the night, and by the time I made it out, she was playing around the compound as if nothing had happened. I can tell you that she was pampered for the rest of the holiday because, in my mother’s words, she felt so much pity that we were going to lose her, especially because of a simple mistake. My mother also gave her a new oriki, Arikuyeri, meaning the one who dodged death.

That wasn’t all with Kova because, by the next day, she was up for a new challenge. If death couldn’t hold her down, nothing else had permission to try.

My mum owns a poultry farm for her elite clientele. It isn’t very big, but the returns on it are pretty wild. And maybe that’s the trick to business: either going big or going home to an exclusive poultry farm serving the 1% of your 1%. The thing with farms is pests, especially rodents, and to get ahead of this problem, you need to have effective pest control. My mother’s pest control game is top-tier, and we rarely ever see a rat near the farm or house. 

Somehow there was a rat in the poultry, and Kova decided to help my mum get rid of the problem; after all, she was her loyal sidekick. Have you ever seen a dog mount a stakeout? Have you witnessed unfailing focus? Have you laid your eyes on someone stalking prey? It can only be described in one word: stunning. Kova wasn't impressed by anything—calling her name, setting her food out, opening the gates, my dad coming back from work, absolutely nothing. The strongest reaction you would get from her is a slight turn of the head. She would monitor from a distance at times, giving the rat the illusion that no one was watching; at other times, she would get closer to ensure her presence was still felt. And every time the rat leaves her hiding spot, Kova is ready to pounce. 

What lessons did I learn from her?

The first one is trust. 

My brothers might have made a mistake with the anti-tick spray, but when she saw everyone swinging into action to rescue her, she trusted us. Even when we were all fussing and becoming overwhelmed by all that was going on, she walked away and gave us the space we needed to figure it out. She was counting on us to do that.

The second one is tenacity.

That sheer, unmoving spirit was beautiful to see. I mentioned it to someone at some point, saying that if I displayed just a bit of that with my goals for this year, oya so pe o tilo, I would be a force to be reckoned with. Maybe my animal spirit this year should be Kova: playful, mischievous, caring, loyal, and above all tenacious. 

And that concludes my story today. 

In other news, I got my PVC. 💃🏼💃🏼

If you are yet to pick up your voter’s card, do the needful. Nigeria is counting on you, and I am counting on you too. Have a wonderful week.

Until next time,

The Estherian💛💛