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I was so happy when I found that someone was selling Mya in their rancher shop, because Mya is the name of my German Shepherd puppy. (Okay, she’s actually 5-years-old and is therefore no longer a puppy, but she certainly still looks and acts like one!)

With the help of my best friend Matisse (aka Mercurique), I managed to save up enough to purchase Mya. Thank you so much, Matisse! Also, a big thank-you to Mya’s previous owner, who dropped the price a ton for me!

Thank you both so much!

A Bit of History

Normally I would make a story and such up for Mya, but I’ve decided to make my virtual Mya a tribute to my real Mya. So, this page is more of a biography than a story.

Apparently Mya is a purebred Shepherd, but we don’t believe so. She has weird un-Shepherd like habits like pointing and hunting, plus her hips don’t dip like most Shepherds. The breeder wasn’t a world-renowned breeder or anything, so we’re actually not surprised that she doesn’t seem to have 100% Shepherd blood. We’re actually quite thankful for it; because Mya’s hips don’t dip down she’s less likely to get hip dysplasia, which is very common among German Shepherds and often causes death.

Typically, the spelling of this name is M-a-y-a, but I grew up in a class with a girl named Kya. I was the one who suggested the name “Maya”, and my mom and brother both liked it. The only problem was they believed that it was spelt with another “a”. I insisted that there was a girl in my class with a similar name who only spelt her name with one “a”. I’m a very persistent person, so eventually my family just gave up and we named our adorable puppy Mya.

Of course, this was a while back when I was much younger and didn’t bother to look up the “proper” spelling. Plus, in everyone else’s defense, I’m not the most fantastic speller (I’d sound like a fool without spell check). Nonetheless, we named our dog Mya, and I know that no one regrets the decision.

Our family spent quite some time deciding on what breed of dog to get. My mom was torn between a Great Dane or a German Shepherd; both were dogs she enjoyed greatly. We were eventually swayed towards a Shepherd because my uncle worked in the police force and was often around the incredibly smart and protective dogs.

When we got Mya, she was around 6-weeks-old. Everyone was excited and happy, and she was the main focus the whole ride home. Just as we were about to pull into our driveway, she got carsick and threw up on my brother. You can tell that even he loved her, because all he did was pat her and tell her it was okay. (Kind of glad I was in the front seat for this one.)

As she grew older, she formed a strong attachment to our family, just as dogs will do. She eventually recognised the alpha in the family (our mom), and became immensely devoted to her. (This is a common trait in Shepherds, because they have more of a pack mentality than other dogs.)

To this day, my mom refers to Mya as her “spouse”. Mya sleeps with her, follows her, and even cries when my mom steps away just to go to the bathroom. Of course, she loves my brother and myself, too, she is just particularly devoted to the alpha.

Most people find Shepherds frightening, as they can be very violent and unfriendly if not socialised properly. Mya has been around people and dogs ever since she was a puppy, so she is exceedingly friendly and would never hurt a fly (although she does hunt squirrels and rabbits…). Mya has a big frightening bark that typically scares people, but she really just does it for show. I don’t think there’s ever been someone who’s disliked her, to be honest. She’s really just a big princess on the inside. In fact, if it ever came down to it, I don’t think she could even hurt someone who was a threat to my family! (Some guard dog, eh?)

I could go on and on about Mya, but I think I’ll stop myself before I end up writing a whole book. She really is the definition of man’s best friend! ♥

My Mya

Here are a few pictures of Mya. Most Shepherd puppies have to have their ears cropped because they naturally flop down. (Cropping doesn’t serve a purpose, it’s really just aesthetically pleasing.) According to Mya’s owner, her ears just perked up one day, so we never actually cropped them. She puts them down whenever she’s happy or excited about something, and they spring back up when she’s curious.

Credit

Background images from iStockPhoto and DepositPhotos. Edited by me. Shepherd from Heather’s Animations.
Mya banner done by me in Adobe Illustrator CS4.