Yoki-san is my dog. His real name is Loki, but everyone calls him Yoki-san. He is a 7 year old Moodle, black and white, and super cute. He likes to be carried like a baby. He is tucked into bed each night. If we pay attention to anyone else, like the magpies who live in our garden, he cries with jealousy.
We adopted Yoki-san around 9 months before we went to Japan for the first time. I started learning Japanese a week after we returned and have continued ever since. So, for 6 years I have been practicing my Japanese on Yoki-san. He knows “please sit”, “please wait”, “please come here”, “what are you doing?” and “what is this?” He responds to all of these things and a few others. I am not sure he understands these things so well in English? He does respond to “sit”, but not nearly as reliably as he does when asked in Japanese. I began practicing my Japanese on Yoki-san as my kids were getting very irritated by my practicing on them.
The first time I travelled overseas after Yoki-san came to live with us, I made my Mum promise she would collect him from the kennels, should something happen to me. She promised she would, but then panicked about not being able to speak Japanese. She said she would have to learn some phrases to be able to communicate with the dog…
I am not sure you could consider a dog bilingual. I mean, they don’t speak any languages. However, if you are judging it on comprehension, maybe he understands some English and some Japanese. I have added some of my favourite photos. The kids always complain that Yoki-san is the favourite child. He is very cute ❤️
Yoki-san has many other nicknames. Pucker butt, Doodle breath, Fatty McBugEyes. It was very lucky that when Super Sake Boy met Yoki-san, they hit it off immediately. As you can see from the photos, it is not only me who indulges the guy. He is adored by everyone in the house, except maybe my cats.
