Dog + Fish = Weird

Sunday, June 3, 2001 - USA

O Falstaff, Falstaff!  wherefore art
   thou Falstaff?
That which we call a fish,
By any other name would smell...

would smell pretty rank.  But all the same, here we have perhaps the unlikeliest rendezvous since Romeo and Juliet; here we have Chino and Falstaff.

MEDFORD, OR — Chino is a 9-year-old Golden Retriever with fuzzy paws, and Falstaff is a freshwater fish who likes to nibble on fuzzy paws.

The two have been fast friends for three years now, according to Mary and Dan Heath of Medford.  They say that Chino has always had something of a fish-fetish, nothing aggressive or predatory, but terribly curious nonetheless.

Ms. Heath describes how their pooch reacted to the small pond in the back yard of their new house: "Chino just got real fascinated. He would lie there on the rocks and just watch the fish."

"This is one of the few things that'll get him to wag his tail."

Among the other aquatic denizens of the pond, Chino likes to study a small school of goldfish, but his favorite will always be Falstaff, a 15-inch orange and black koi.  And the feeling seems to be mutual.

When Chino lies down with his nose an inch from the water, Falstaff eagerly swims up to the dog, sometimes playfully nibbling on the pooch's paws.

Dr. Danna Catt of the Jackson Animal Hospital tries to explain the unusual relationship.  "Retrievers are smart dogs, they're sociable, they can see just like we can see," she says.

"The fish, on the other hand...?  Nobody knows what a fish thinks."

"Parting is such sweet salmon."
(Photo: Bob Pennell / Mail Tribune)