Dogs, cats, a canary, hog and stuff to do or buy for them.
nts – yes, we’re talking about pets. But not just the furry kind: birdies and piglets count, too.
Despite the fact that they can be expensive and difficult to care for, we love them, share our homes with them, play with them, communicate with them and spoil them rotten.
Whether you’re an animal lover or not, don’t miss what these eight Kyiv residents have to say about their lovable pets.
“I have the cutest puppies ever!” 11-year-old Kathryn Gurley wrote in about her chihuahua and cocker spaniel. Yeah, that’s what they all say. Without more ado, here’s our survey of Kyiv’s domesticated animal population.
Irina Yavdoshko, 24, Production Manager, Pink magazine
What type of animal do you have? A canary named Kuzya.
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| Yevhen Kolesnyk |
How old is it? 1.5 years.
Where did you get it? I bought it at the pet market.
Why a canary? Once when I was in TSUM (the central department store) I heard beautiful singing, and later learned it was coming from a canary. I decided to buy a bird so that I could hear the beautiful singing every day.
What do you feed your canary? Special birdseed for canaries, dandelion leaves, apples, bananas, pasta and cottage cheese.
Bird behavior: We often let him out of the cage, and he steals food from our plates and takes it back to his coop. Also, when the television or radio is on, or if we have many guests over, he sings very loudly in an attempt to drown everyone else out.
Where does it sleep? In his cage, near the window; he stands on one leg with his head hidden under the wing.
Toys/accessories: He has a big bath in the shape of a wash-stand with a tap. Also, he has a bright orange stand for his food and water dish.
How does it travel? His trip home from the pet market was in a plastic bottle. Now he only moves around in his comfortable cage.
Favorite/least favorite things about your pet: He likes to be held and to sit on my shoulder, which is rather unusual for a canary.
Birdbrained: Once when he was flying around the apartment, he fell into a frying pan with oil (it wasn’t hot) and couldn’t fly out. He sat there for a couple of hours. When we found him he was very oily and looked really funny. It took him a month to get the oil off his feathers. Also, in the summertime we usually move Kuzya’s cage onto the balcony. One day I heard him screaming and rushed out to see him: Kuzya was running around his coop with his wings spread, trying to protect his territory from a big hornet, which accidentally flew in.
Andrea Kalan, 34, Director of Education Programs, IREX
What’s your animal? Two cats named Absolut and Campari.
Age: Absolut is 10 years old, Campari is 7 years old.
Where did you get them? I found Absolut on the street in German Village in Columbus, Ohio. Campari was a gift from a friend in Odessa.
Why a cat? I can’t imagine wanting any other kind of pet!
What do your cats eat? Whiskas – canned food in the morning, dry food at night.
Strange cat habits: Absolut (the black and white one) says goodbye to me when I leave and he snorts when he sleeps.
Where do your pets sleep? In my bed with me.
Accessories for well-bred cats: Their favorite toys are the little swizzle sticks used for cocktails, especially the ones with frilly bits. These cats aren’t named after alcohol for nothing.
How do they travel? They hate to travel, but when they do, they travel in the plane with me. They have their own travel containers: soft-sided fancy ones for when they’re on board the plane and hard-sided containers for when they have to travel below the plane in the hold.
Favorite/least favorite things about your pets: That they are warm and fuzzy and love to snuggle with me in the winter. My least favorite thing about cats are the litter boxes and fur balls.
Evgeniy Belousov, 23, Communications Specialist, International Institute of Business
What type of animal do you have? An Eskimo dog named Itke.
Age: 2.5 years.
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| Yevhen Kolesnyk |
How did you get it? It’s a long story, but in brief, I’ve always wanted a white wolf. A few years ago my parents told me they had seen a puppy that resembled a white wolf at the market. Two days later I found the vendor, and Itke was the last puppy left. I spent my whole salary on him that month.
What do you feed him? Meat, hot cereals and bread.
Bad Eskimo-dog habits: He’s crazy about collecting and chewing bottles, he tries to communicate with people (usually by barking at them) and he often licks guests, though I’m not sure they like it.
Where does he sleep? He has his own place on the balcony, but usually he sleeps wherever he wants. Sometimes he tries to sleep with me, but I always kick him out.
Toys/accessories: Tennis balls, plastic bottles and old toys.
How does he travel? That’s a bit of a problem for me, because he’s a rather large dog. I don’t have a car yet, so we can’t really travel long distances. Usually we just walk around the neighborhood.
Eternal mysteries: I’m curious to know why he likes watermelons. He’s an Eskimo, so I can’t imagine where he or his relatives would have tasted watermelon.
Kathryn Gurley, 11, Pechersk School International
What type of animals do you have? A long-haired Chihuahua named Honey-bunny and a Cocker spaniel puppy named Maddy.
Age: Honey-bunny is 3 years old and Maddy is 3 months old.
Where did you get them? We got Honey-bunny in Almaty, Kazakhstan and Maddy here in Kyiv. We decided to get Maddy as a companion for Honey-bunny, and for me.
What do you feed your pets? Pedigree dog food, usually. When we run out of dog food, we feed them healthy things that we know they’ll enjoy, like chicken skin or meat.
Hopping and eating: Honey-bunny hops around like a bunny – that’s why we gave her that name. And Maddy always wants to eat.
Where do your pets sleep? Honey-bunny sleeps with my parents, close to my mom, and Maddy sleeps with me, my parents or in the TV room.
Toys/accessories: Honey-bunny thinks she’s too cool and proper for toys, but Maddy plays with an oversized cat toy and a rope toy. He really likes to play.
How do they travel? They love to go in the car. They’re very good in the car. They have never been in an airplane.
Pros and cons: My favorite thing about Maddy is that she’s very affectionate; my least favorite thing about her is that sometimes she gets overly excited and growls. She poops and pees everywhere and chews everything, and my mom says that if she weren’t so cute she’d be out of here. My favorite thing about Honey-bunny is that she’s really soft, a little fat (Maddy’s fat, too) and really cute. My least favorite thing about her is that she’s not much of a cuddly lap dog like we thought she would be. She barks when people come over and sometimes hides from them. She also poops and pees everywhere, and then I have to clean up after her.
Yuriy Shafarenko, 27, Communications Officer, International Committee of the Red Cross
What type of animal do you have? A French bulldog named Ellie.
Age: 2 years old.
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| Yevhen Kolesnyk |
Where did you get her? My girlfriend just brought it home one day. She got it from a vet and breeder in Kyiv.
Why a French bulldog? I didn’t know anything about this breed before Ellie – in fact, I’ve never had a pet before – but I’ve grown to love her.
What does she eat? She’ll eat almost anything, except dog food. We feed her meat, chicken, eggs, rice, soup, fruits, veggies and yogurt. She’s pathetic when she begs for food so we end up giving in and feeding her all kinds of table scraps.
Bizarre habits: She snores loudly, frequently has hiccups, loves to look at herself in the mirror and always wants to cuddle. She’s a total lap dog.
Where does she sleep? At night she sleeps in bed, often under the blanket at my feet or with her head sticking out. I read somewhere that about 90 percent of French bulldogs sleep with their owners.
Toys/accessories: She has several toys, but she’s only mildly interested in them. She enjoys playing with plastic bottles, especially taking the caps off of them. My girlfriend wants to get her a sweater and other warm clothes for winter, but I don’t know where we can buy them in Kyiv.
How does your pet travel? On a leash or by car; she’s never been in an airplane.
Favorite/least favorite things about your pet: She’s incredibly affectionate, communicative and spirited. But sometimes she’s too stubborn and manipulative, which can be frustrating.
Igor Sukhov, 33 Director, U Seni y Gogi restaurant
What type of animal do you have? A Vietnamese decorative pig called Andrey Petrovich.
Age: 6 months old.
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| Yevhen Kolesnyk |
Whence the pig? We bought it in Kyiv, but they’re bred somewhere in Poltava oblast.
Why a pig? To attract customers to the restaurant; very many people living in Kyiv have never seen pigs before.
What do you feed your pig? Mainly vegetables. We give him sugar cubes as a treat. The restaurant employs a person to prepare food for him, walk him and bathe him.
Swinish habits: He squeals.
Where does your pig sleep? Inside the restaurant, usually on his bed inside a pen/cage.
Toys/accessories: A large squeaky ball (meant for dogs).
How does your pig travel? He doesn’t travel, but he goes for a daily walk around the neighborhood (on a leash).
Favorite/least favorite things about your pig: Andrey Petrovich has a very strong character, which I like, since animals without character aren’t interesting. When a person really likes an animal, it’s hard to dislike anything about it.
Olena Davis, 44, Executive Director, International HIV/AIDS Institute
What type of animal do you have? A guinea pig named Princess Chunya.
Age: Approximately 1 year.
Where did you get it? Purchased from a pet shop in central Kyiv.
Why a guinea pig? Actually, she was a Christmas present for our son, Andriy, but it’s really a family pet. We have had a number of guinea pigs in the Laptiva family, going back to one that was kept by me and my sister over 30 years ago.
What does a guinea pig eat? The Princess gets a commercial grain and soy mixture for guinea pigs. However, she is also fed fresh lettuce and carrots, from the dacha in summer and from Volodymyrska Market in winter.
Guinea-pig eccentricities: The Princess is relatively quiet, except when my husband gets up early in the morning she begins squealing rather shrilly until she gets her first feeding of the day.
Where does your pet sleep? Now she sleeps in her cage. Previously we allowed her to run loose in the apartment and sleep in her favorite places behind major pieces of furniture. Now she is almost totally confined to her cage since we found that she was chewing the insulation off wiring and was in serious danger of self-electrocution.
Toys/accessories: Nothing yet, but we have to get her an exercise wheel so that she can begin to work on her increasingly ample figure. I have suggested several times that she would make great jarkoia (roasted meat), but my husband and son take severe exception to that idea.
How does it travel? The Princess has so far made no visits to her outer domain, i.e. the dacha, but perhaps next summer she will, cage and all.
Stress on the “pig”: She is a very quiet, loving girl but her personal habits require that her cage be totally cleaned at least every few days – it’s a somewhat smelly job.
Yuliya Poberezhna, 22, Journalist, TV company Kyiv
What type of animal do you have? A Russian toy terrier named Flower of Love (aka Brown Voldemar).
Age: 6 months.
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| Yevhen Kolesnyl |
Where/how did you get it? I bought it at a pet store/club.
What made you choose a toy terrier? It’s an ideal indoor pet. The dog only weighs 1.5 kg, so I can take it with me everywhere. At many stores where animals are forbidden, toy breeds are allowed. These are great dogs for busy or lazy people because they don’t require much exercise. My dog is trained to go to the bathroom indoors, like a cat. Also, these dogs are very smart and can be taught many things.
What do you feed your pet? Voldemar is great – he eats everything! He especially loves sunflower seeds. This is a very economical pet because it can’t eat more than four spoonfuls of food per day.
A passion for socks: He loves socks – if he finds one, he’ll definitely chew it and tear it apart. He also chews my houseplants and tears the leaves off of them. Best of all, he likes to eat and to be naughty.
Where does it sleep? In my bed, by my feet, often under the blanket.
Toys/accessories: About five balls, as well as a toy mouse.
How does it travel? Toy terriers are great companions. It travels in my handbag, inside my coat or in my hands.
Favorite/least favorite things about your pet: This is a case of someone buying love with money – and it was well worth it! He’s a very small dog with a very big heart. Also, he’s always clean and has no smell. He doesn’t require special care. That said, I don’t like it when he has too much energy. If he feels like jumping around, there’s no way of stopping him, even in the middle of the night.
